Independent TVi under assault by Yanukovych's tax goons

Ukraine's only independent TV channel, which, i.m.o. employs some of the country's best journalists,  has been under attack by the Ukrainian tax authorities for many weeks. 

Yanukovych and his son have a total grip on the levers of power. The head of the state tax service Klimenko, the head of the ministry of interior Zakharchenko, head of state security [SBU], Kalinin, and prosecutor general's office top knobs Pshonka and Kuzmin are 100% Yanukovych loyalists. They are shamelessly conducting an assault on independent media in the country in order to neutralise them before the next parliamentary elections. 

A trumped up tax evasion criminal case has now been opened against one of TVi's most prominent front-men and general director, Mykola Knyazhytsky,  He has responded in an open letter to the president published on 'Ukrainska Pravda' site. 

All this despite the Ukrainian State Tax Service's announcement on March 30th this year on its website, that it will not be conducting any tax checks on the mass media in the second quarter of the current year in order to provide them with "all the  [necessary] conditions for objective illumination of the [October parliamentary] election campaign"

A few days ago I blogged about the disgraceful attack on the independent LB.ua website which has driven its top journalist to seek refuge abroad until she receives an undertaking that the absurd case against her and the site is dropped.

Most television channels, newspapers and other mass media are controlled by wealthy oligarchic Party of Regions' supporters already - their news broadasts and current events programmes are heavily biassed. Tvi and Lb.ua are in a disadvantagous position..now they are being squeezed even harder. 


p.s. This blog was temporarily closed down recently by what was described as 'suspicious activity'. LEvko may be moving to another site soon, if this continues...