The parliamentary opposition will do everything possible to prevent the adoption of the bill on amendments to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine on the toughening of punishments for the infringement of the honor, dignity and business reputation of a person, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Mykola Tomenko said.
The press service of the Batkivschyna United Opposition reported on
Tuesday that the opposition was indignant at the vote of the Regions
Party and the parliamentary majority, “which returned such archaisms as
slander and offence to the criminal legislation.”
“If such a norm is introduced, I think, a third of journalists and a
part of the opposition will be taken to prison,” Tomenko said.
He added that public organizations did not support the bill, and it was not considered by the committee on freedom of speech.
As reported, the Verkhovna Rada is planning to return to the
legislation the notion of slander and introduce criminal responsibility
for such actions.
Some 244 of the 347 MPs registered at the parliament’s session on
Tuesday voted at first reading for the bill on amendments to the
Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine on the
toughening of punishments for the infringement of the honor, dignity and
business reputation of a person.
The author of the bill, a member of the Regions Party parliamentary
faction Vitaliy Zhuravsky, registered the document in the parliament in
July. The MP proposed to introduce the notions of slander and offence to
the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code.
The document was revised in September and the notion “offence” was removed from it.
The document proposes to add Article 145-1 entitled “Slander” to the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
