Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Andriy Parubiy, addressed the Committee members.

PACE Committee Chair Volodymyr Ariyev opened the meeting.

The meeting participants approved the agenda and supplements to minutes of the Paris and Strasbourg meetings of June 1, 2016 and June 21-23, 2016 respectively.

Ariyev delivered speech on "Attack on Journalists and Free Speech in Media in Europe." He noted that the threats for the media space are growing and alter as the media space itself is altering.

Volodymyr Ariyev highlighted the major problems that exist: physical assault against and threat to life of journalists, murdering journalists in Council of Europe countries, as well as terrorist threats, danger of radicals for the media, arrests and persecutions and hampering professional activity of journalists.

He said there are still unsettled problems today.

Ariyev noted that most of the problems in Ukraine expressed in the previous report are in fact generated not by Ukraine, but by the occupants in the eastern part of our country and in the Russia-annexed Crimea.

The rapporteur said that the Information Memo comprises almost 200 facts of infringement of rights and freedoms of journalists in Ukraine.

Ariyev also noted that the Memo lodges claims against most of the Council of Europe countries. Thus, today each and every fact of infringement of journalists rights must be discussed in detail and with particular attention.

The Committee members considered the Information Memo. The participants in respective hearings were General Secretary of the European Federation of Journalists, Ricardo Gutierrez, a representative of the Institute of Mass Information, Oksana Romaniuk, and a representative of the Reanimation Package of Reforms, Ihor Rozkladai.

Mr. Gutierrez thanked members of the Committee for their stable interest in observance of free speech. He presented a map of Europe with the facts of violation of free speech in Europe marked on it. He said that respective violations were registered in the Republic of Turkey (341 cases), Russian Federation (38) and France (34). Over the second quarter of 2016, the number of such cases rose by 50% as against the first quarter.

According to Romaniuk, the situation in Crimea requires particular attention, The pressure of the Russian occupation forces in Crimea on journalists differs from the pressure on journalists in Russia.

She noted that Ukrainian journalists do not have access to the occupied territories and that local media organizations there have simply been eliminated.

Romaniuk said that major challenges for the Ukrainian society are restoration of trust in journalists and improvement of the level of investigation into physical assaults against media representatives.

The members of the PACE Committee also heard rapporteurs on "Use of Media in Political Purposes and in War Propaganda."

Besides, the meeting attendees held hearings on "Youth Against Corruption." One of the hearings participants was Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yurii Lutsenko. He told about his work on the position and tasks he is facing as the prosecutor general of Ukraine this year.

In speaking about the fight against corruption, the prosecutor general expressed hope that the youth will start coming to the prosecutor's office.

At the end of his speech, Lutsenko answered questions of the Committee members.

The PACE Committee meeting participants also heard the issue of "New Methods of Political Influence on Independent Journalism."

On Tuesday, September 20, the meeting of the PACE Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media will continue.

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