FOTP 2013 Full Report

marred by procedural violations and closed to the public. In June, a Kyiv appellate court upheld alower court’s ruling that prosecutors could not investigate credible evidence that formerpresident Leonid Kuchma had ordered the killing. Journalists, press freedom advocates, andGongadze’s family have asserted that Yanukovych used the courts to clear Kuchma’s name bydismissing key evidence and pinning all of the blame on Yuriy Kravchenko, a deceased formerinterior minister.With hundreds of state and private television and radio stations and numerous printoutlets, Ukraine’s media sector is diverse compared with those of most other former Sovietrepublics, but it faces growing challenges, including declining pluralism and an increasingemphasis on entertainment over news reporting. Four pro-Yanukovych media magnates—ViktorPinchuk, Ihor Kolomoyskyy, Valeriy Khoroshkovskyy, and Renat Akmetov—dominate thenational television channels, while most regional broadcasters are dependent on progovernmentbusiness magnates and state subsidies, encouraging self-censorship and bias in favor of specificeconomic or political interests. Transparency of media ownership remains poor, as businessmenand politicians often prefer to hide their influence over news programs. Thanks to the tiesbetween business and politics, the top eight television channels avoid politically sensitive topicssuch as government corruption, the president’s use of state resources to support his and hisfamily’s lifestyle, human rights abuses, persecution of the political opposition, and growingunemployment. The global economic crisis has led to a decline in advertising revenue, leavingmedia outlets, particularly newspapers, even more financially dependent on politicized owners.Hidden political advertising is widespread in the media and weakens the credibility ofjournalists, particularly during elections.The government does not restrict access to the internet, which was used by about 38percent of the population in 2012. A growing number of citizens are relying on the web andsocial-networking sites such as Odnoklassniki and VKontakte to exchange information.Although internet publications are not required to register with the authorities, the SBU hasincreased its monitoring of government criticism on the internet in recent years.United Arab EmiratesStatus: Not FreeLegal Environment: 24Political Environment: 27Economic Environment: 23Total Score: 74Survey Edition 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Total Score, Status 68,NF 69,NF 71,NF 71,NF 72,NFThe government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) significantly increased its efforts to silencedissent in 2012, arresting scores of activists and bloggers and further limiting an alreadyconstrained media environment. While the constitution provides for freedom of speech, thegovernment uses its judicial, legislative, and executive powers to limit those rights in practice.UAE Federal Law No. 15 of 1980 for Printed Matter and Publications regulates all aspects of themedia and is considered one of the most restrictive press laws in the Arab world. It authorizes the391