HRW condemns Ukraine corruption law it says targets journalists News
HRW condemns Ukraine corruption law it says targets journalists

Human Rights Watch (HRW) [Official website] condemned [press release] on Wednesday a new Ukrainian anti-corruption law [text, in Ukrainian] that requires activists and journalists who report on government corruption to file public declarations of their personal assets. The law was passed by the Ukrainian Parliament on March 23 and signed by President Petro Poroshenko on March 27. An amendment had been introduced to exempt independent groups and journalists, but that amendment was not included in the final law. Failure by activists to declare their personal assets is punishable by up to two years in prison. HRW has stated that the new law will have a “chilling effect on activists and journalists.” President Poroshenko has stated that he will create a working group to amend the law to to exclude activists, but this is expected to take some time.

Ukraine has undergone significant criticisms of its human rights in recent years. A UN report released [JURIST report] in December of several human rights violations against civilians near the “contact line” between the Ukrainian government and armed groups. Russia and Ukraine have been in conflict since the annexation of Crimea [JURIST backgrounder] in March 2014. In July Amnesty International and Human Rights released the 56-page report detailing how Ukrainian government officials and Russia-backed separatists in the Ukraine have subjected citizens to [JURIST report] “prolonged, arbitrary detention,” torture, or other forms of inhumane treatment, including refusing necessary medical attention. In June the UN human rights office reported that the human rights situation in Ukraine remains troublesome [JURIST report] following two years of conflict with Russia.