Deputies want to pass a law that would punish journalists for any mention of lawyers next to clients: CPC
Deputies of the Verkhovna Rada will try to pass a law that would punish journalists for any mention of lawyers next to their clients. About this informs press service of the Anti-Corruption Center (CPC).
This week, the Verkhovna Rada plans to consider the draft law again in the second reading №12320, the authors of which are People’s Deputy Hryhoriy Mamka from OPZZH, as well as other members of the law enforcement committee, in particular Serhii Ionushas and Maksym Buzhanskyi. The purpose of the draft law is to provide guarantees for the activities of lawyers, however, the document contains a number of contradictory provisions that may pose a threat to freedom of speech.
“The draft law introduces administrative responsibility for public identification of a lawyer with a client. At the same time, the provisions of the draft law in the edition for the second reading are written in such a way that, in fact, they allow the authors of publications to be prosecuted banally for mentioning the name of the lawyer next to the name of the client.” — explained Olena Shcherban, deputy executive director of the Anti-Corruption Center.
Such norms will actually allow journalists and authors of any public materials that only mention lawyers and cases in which they participate in courts to be prosecuted. For example, it will be forbidden to call Yanukovych’s lawyers Yanukovych’s lawyers or, accordingly, to call Tatarov Akhmetov’s lawyer.
The draft law is supported by the National Association of Lawyers of Ukraine, which will continue to be headed by Lidia Izovitova. She is called close to Medvedchuk. At one time, this association approved the appointment of Tatarov as deputy head of the Office of the President. If the law is passed, Izovitova and her entourage will receive tools to persecute journalists.
