Ukrainian journalist killed in car explosion

Freedom of expression

Ukrainian-Belarusian journalist Pavlo Sheremet  was killed in a car bomb on 20th July 2016. He had worked for Ukrainska Pravda, one of the most popular publications in Ukraine, for almost five years.

Pavlo Sheremet is the latest journalist to be killed in a country that has become increasingly dangerous to the profession as a result of Ukraine's ongoing conflict with Russia. There are also continuing challenges with access to public information and transparency of governing institutions.

Peaceful assembly

LGBTI groups have had their freedom of peaceful assembly challenged by extremist groups:  an LGBTI event held in Lviv in March 2016 was confronted by far-right groups throwing stones and fireworks. In comparison, Ukraine's first ever LGBTI pride event was held successfully in the capital Kiev in June 2016, with over a thousand participants. The event passed peacefully after the police organised to prevent far-right protests. Other recent protests have been held peacefully, including anti-government protests.

LGBT festival in Ukraine abandoned after far-right protest via @guardiannews #lgbti https://t.co/ETxHrVcvcF

— Amnesty UK LGBTI (@AmnestyUK_LGBTI) March 21, 2016

Freedom of association

Civil society freedoms are seen to have improved since the Euromadian protests led to the ousting of the government in 2014. Because of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, civil society rights are however not enjoyed equally across Ukraine; the government does not have full control of the territory of Ukraine, which means that it cannot guarantee civil society rights in areas under pro-Russian control, such as Crimea and some parts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.