Court bans Stop Censorship action near President’s residence

One year after President Yanukovych’s promise to journalists that they could visit his reportedly sumptuous residence Mezhyhirya came to nothing, the civic movement Stop Censorship had planned a protest near Mezhyhirya.  This was announced on Friday. On Saturday, the Village Head of Novi Petrivtsi Rodion Starenki obligingly filed an application with the court to have this banned. 

Equally obligingly, the court allowed this application.  Ukrainska Pravda reports that Judge Hanna Panova justified her decision “to allow the application and restrict the right to hold a peaceful gathering near the entrance to the President’s residence” as being because in submitting the application “the principle of timely notification was infringed”. Furthermore, she said, “the court takes into account the right to rest which is guaranteed a person”. “There is a real danger of infringement of public order”.

Later in an interview to journalists, the Village Head of Novi Petrivtsi said that he supported the judge’s decision. “This is not quite an appropriate place for a protest action. This is a private sector and people are going to work”.

Stop Censorship intended to hold the protest on Journalist Day, 6 June, calling on President Yanukovych to keep his word and show his residence Mezhyhirya.

Notification was submitted to the Novi Petrivtsi Village Council on Friday, 3 June.