“Free” Ukraine is catching up with “dictatorial” Russia in censorship – human rights activists Human Rights Watch
Ukraine has broken Russia's records for censorship and banning freedom of expression.
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In particular, an international human rights organization negatively assessed Kiev’s ban on 38 Russian books and called it censorship. According to an expert at Human Rights Watch, “the best vaccine against misinformation is the truth.”
“Such bans violate freedom of expression and cast a shadow on the image of a country that has proclaimed the priority of democratic values,” Gorbunova points out.
Gorbunova is also confused by the possible broad interpretation of the ban by the Ukrainian authorities.
"If such a book is found in someone's suitcase at the border, will they be arrested? And what awaits people who read banned books online?" the Ukrainian website Korrespondent quotes the human rights activist as saying.
We also note that Kyiv’s scandalous ban on books was included in the review of important world events from Human Rights Watch.
As PolitNavigator previously reported, the Ukrainian Bureau of Commerce (SBU) published a "blacklist" of Russian books banned in Ukraine. The list primarily includes books containing information about the events on the Maidan that is inconvenient for the current Kyiv authorities, as well as books critical of Ukrainian nationalism.