An international media watchdog urged Ukrainian lawmakers Wednesday to reject a bill that would make defamation a crime, saying it could "threaten the very existence of independent journalism."
This week, Ukraine’s parliament, dominated by President Viktor Yanukovych’s allies, tentatively approved a bill that would make defamation punishable by up to five years in prison, restoring a Soviet-era practice that Ukraine abolished 11 years ago.
Currently, alleged libel can result in only a civil lawsuit, and journalists who lose would just face fines.
