The Party of Regions of Ukraine has sent out letters to the embassies of foreign countries, the Delegation of the European Commission in Ukraine and the Council of Europe office in Ukraine to express its concern about a court ruling banning criticism of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
“The court ruling is disgraceful and incontrovertible evidence of the fact that, for the first time in the history of independent Ukraine and the development and establishment of democracy in the Ukrainian state, the authorities used the judicial system that they control to ban criticizing the government’s and the prime minister’s steps in all media outlets,” says the letter, which the party’s press service made public on Friday.
“The Party of Regions views this attempt as Yulia Tymoshenko’s first step toward full control in the informational environment and a return to a totalitarian system,” it says.
The press service of the Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko reported on Thursday that the Batkivschyna party led by Tymoshenko had filed a lawsuit seeking to ban what it sees as unfair statements in relation to Tymoshenko.
The matter involves an ad imitating and copying texts, images, musical and sound effects used in Batkivschyna’s promotion materials, which is banned by Ukrainian law, the press service said.
A number of media outlets reported on Thursday that Kyiv’s Pechersky Court had banned any circulation of unfair advertisement regarding Tymoshenko’s activities as a prime minister.
