A criminal investigation has been initiated
against the director of the company, Mykola Knyazhytsky, over what the tax
authorities allege was tax evasion.
Since the
amount in question is Hr 3 million, the charges could carry a prison sentence,
though most are inclined to see this as an attempt to silence a channel known
for its critical stance.
It would be
difficult to call TVi fully balanced, but it has consistently allowed different
voices to be heard, and has given coverage to protests, high-profile scandals,
government corruption deals and socio-political issues. These are all either
presented in manipulative fashion or assiduously avoided on the increasingly
sycophantic national television channels.
With regard to the criminal investigation just
initiated, Knyazhytsky is categorical that it has no basis.
He says that the case involves alleged non-payment of value-added
tax, and that it has been initiated after the channel won the relevant
court case. When they started out in 2008, they needed to buy all the
equipment and paid VAT on it, even though it was exempt from the tax. The
authorities did not wish to return the VAT, so the channel deducted this amount
when settling their tax accounts. According to Knyazhytsky, all tax
checks up till now have confirmed that this was legitimate. For that
reason he is adamant that the latest tax police visitation is aimed at
silencing critical voices and is an assault on freedom of speech.
There would certainly seem to be grounds for concern
since this is not by any means the first visit by the tax authorities, and the
pretexts for the others have been different. For example, on April 14, Mykola
Knyazhytsky publicly stated that TVi was facing pressure from the tax
authorities and called on the Ministry of the Interior and the Tax
Administration to deal with the situation. He reported that they were
facing another tax inspection just months after the previous one. The Tax
Administration then claimed that the new check was at the request of a police
investigator.
The close interest of the tax authorities follows
previous conflict. TVi was one of the two – most independent – channels
whose frequencies were radically cut in 2010. The alarm bells which began
ringing and prompted comments from EU structures, international media watchdogs
and others were only compounded by the role played by the Security Service,
then headed by Valery Khoroshkovsky. The latter also happened to own the media
holding which most benefited from the reallocation of broadcasting frequencies.
The latest action against TVi closely follows worrying moves involving threats
of criminal prosecution against the chief editor and other journalists from the
website Levy Bereg (www.lb.ua
). The situation is not entirely clear, and the prosecutor’s statements
have been contradictory, however it is difficult to feel it coincidental since
Levy Bereg is also known for its critical, hard-hitting articles.
The timing in both cases is of major concern given the close proximity of
elections. On Feb. 9, the Verkhovna Rada finally passed a resolution on
measures to stop checks by
various authorities and State institutions. At that time the Tax Administration stated that they would not be scheduling checks from the
second quarter of 2012, i.e. from April 1.
This all makes the assertion by a spokesperson from the Tax Administration that
the check on TVi was carried out before the moratorium on media checks was
announced on 25 June baffling.
One civic activist from Kryvy Rih wrote to TVi asking
how he could protest against the sudden disappearance of the channel from the
normal, albeit restricted, slots where it was broadcast. It is difficult
to know how many other people have been experiencing such problems of late.
It is, unfortunately, much easier to predict how many
people will lose access to independent news coverage and free exchange of views
if a clear message is not given to the authorities regarding the latest
measures against TVi.
They are entirely inappropriate just months before the
parliamentary elections. It is vital that the international community
makes it clear that fair and democratic elections must include full respect for
freedom of speech and access to all information, including that critical of the
government.
Halya Coynash is a member of the Kharkiv Human Rights Group.
