The IPI global network today raises serious alarm over the ruling by a court in Kyiv which pre-emptively banned the publication of a joint investigation by Ukrainian independent outlet Slidstvo.Info and the Centre for Counteracting Corruption (CPK), a Ukrainian NGO.
The investigation analysed publicly available documents and reported on alleged irregularities in the business dealings of the brother of the head of Ukraine’s State Investigation Bureau (DBR). According to Slidstvo.Info, which is one of the country’s leading investigative media outlets, the investigation was based entirely on information found within public documents.
In its ruling on 6 July, the Pechersk District Court in Kyiv issued an extraordinary decision banning the publication of the report under Article 150 of Ukraine’s Code of Civil Procedure, ruling that the publication of the findings would violate Ukrainian laws on unauthorized publication of personal data. In its decision, the court did not consider the public interest nature of the reporting, as required under Ukrainian law.
According to Darya Kaleniuk, the Director of CPK, moving ahead with publication would amount to ignoring a court order. This would be punishable with a fine or up to three years in prison under Article 382 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code.
The court ruling was made almost immediately after CPK sent questions to the director of the State Investigation Bureau seeking his response to questions about the property, transactions and investments of his brother.
The company of the DBR director’s brother, which was also sent a list of questions ahead of publication, appealed directly to the court to block publication, requesting an immediate ban in advance of a lawsuit that the company said it would later file. The company would have 10 days to file the lawsuit, according to reports. No lawsuit has yet been received.
On July 8, CPK reported that they eventually received a reply from the DBR on their request for comment, but that most of the text of the reply consisted of veiled threats to open criminal investigations into the head of CPK.
Anna Babinets, the head of Slidstvo.Info, told IPI that the journalists had been working on the story for several months and confirmed that the media outlet and its partner plan to appeal the ban in court. While the news outlet hopes the decision will be overturned, the timeframe for a decision is unclear.
IPI warns that the pre-publication ban issued by the Pechersk District Court represents a worrying attempt to censor independent reporting on a topic of clear public interest. If this dangerous ruling is not removed upon appeal, it would set a dangerous precedent for investigative reporting in Ukraine and undermine the freedom of the press.
IPI further urges the call Kyiv Court of Appeals to closely assess this ruling through the lens of media freedom and public interest journalism, as foreseen by Article 29 of the Law on Information, and overturn this problematic ruling in a timely manner.
Journalists in Ukraine regularly face legal pressures from domestic actors, particularly while reporting on alleged corruption. Defamation lawsuits have become increasingly common, most recently with the case of Bihus.Info journalist Svitlana Stetsenko, who was sued for an investigation into alleged financial irregularities during the reconstruction of the Trypillya power plant in Kyiv region.
More than four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, journalists in the country continue to face unprecedented risks in carrying out their work. Media offices and apartments belonging to media workers are regularly damaged in Russian strikes.
This statement by IPI is part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries
