Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed law No. 421-VIII "On Introducing Changes to Certain Legal Acts of Ukraine Regarding the Strengthening of the Guarantees of Journalists' Legal Professional Activities" that sets criminal responsibility for threats or violence against journalists and for deliberate destruction or damage to a journalist's property, the presidential press service has reported.
According to the law, the murder or attempted murder of a journalist or their relatives due to the journalist’s legal professional activities is punishable by custody for a term of nine to fifteen years, or life imprisonment.
Kidnapping a journalist or their relatives to make the journalist commit or abstain from any action is punishable by imprisonment from between eight to fifteen years. Deliberate assault causing slight or moderate injuries to a journalist due to the journalist’s legal professional activities will be punished by restriction of liberty or imprisonment for a period of up to five years, and in case of causing serious injuries to a journalist, the punishment will be imprisonment from between five to twelve years (by an organized group it is from seven to fourteen years).
Deliberate destruction or damage to a journalist’s property due to the journalist’s legal professional activities is punishable by a fine, arrest or restriction of freedom for a term of up to five years. If these actions occurred via common peril, for example, by arson or explosion, or caused deaths and other serious consequences, they are punishable by restriction of freedom for a term of between six to fifteen years.
Threats of murder, violence, destruction or damage to property of a journalist, the journalist’s close relatives or members of a family due to journalist’s legal professional activities, is punishable by community work for a term of up to two years, up to six months arrest, restriction of freedom for up to three years, or by imprisonment for a term of up to three years.
The law also sets criminal responsibility for judges for who hand down intentionally unjust rulings, or decisions or decrees to prevent journalist from conducting their legal professional activities. Such actions are punishable by imprisonment for a term of five to eight years.
The law sets state budget compensation payments in case of death or injuries caused to a journalist while working. In case of the death of a journalist, their family will receive a single compensation of 100 living wages, in case of injury the compensation is set at 50 living wages.
