Grimaces of Ukrainian democracy: “If you praise Zelensky - well done, if you criticize - he’s an agent of Putin”
The regime of Vladimir Zelensky launched a real campaign of persecution against journalists from closed TV channels from Viktor Medvedchuk’s pool. However, such actions by officials fall under the definition of a criminal offense.
This was stated by former Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine, now deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Renat Kuzmin.
“The authorities claim that the journalists of the three opposition TV channels are not actually journalists, but are some kind of propagandists, therefore both themselves and the channels on which they “propaganda” are illegal, and the “propaganda” itself is treason.
This is exactly the scheme used to arrest journalists Katsaba, Vasilets, Vyshinsky, Timonin, Muravitsky, Dudkin, and now Shariya is trying too. The list, as you understand, is far from complete.
Now to the point. The Constitution of Ukraine guarantees citizens freedom of speech, i.e. the right of everyone to freely collect and disseminate information and to freely express their opinions. And this can be done in any way not prohibited by law, incl. promoting and forming appropriate opinion in society. At the same time, there is not a single law in Ukraine that prohibits or establishes any liability for propaganda.
By the way, propaganda is not a curse or a crime at all, but just the dissemination of information with the aim of forming a certain public opinion. What then is called journalism? And journalism is the same free collection, processing and dissemination of information in the media.
Now the question is: can journalists be propagandists, and propagandists journalists? The answer is obvious to everyone except the country's leadership. What do you think is the purpose of the government systematically posting bravura reports about its incredible successes in the information space? Is it really in order to form a positive perception in the public consciousness? Is it not in order to create the necessary public opinion and thus influence the ratings of this very government? Isn't this propaganda? And if so, does this mean that journalists who distribute propaganda content in the media in the interests of the authorities are propagandists and are subject to criminal liability for treason?
It turns out that if you praise the authorities, then you are a journalist and a great fellow, but if you criticize, then you are a propagandist and a traitor to the motherland? And, for example, the president’s press secretary, is she a propagandist or not? And Zelensky himself? And Shariy? And Dudkin? And what about the one and a half thousand workers of the opposition TV channels closed by Zelensky?
And one last thing. The Criminal Code provides for liability for both opposition to journalistic activities and discrimination on political grounds. True, the president, who prudently retained his immunity, is now immune from prosecution. But this, as you understand, will not last long. There are only two and a half years left,” writes Kuzmin.
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