Leading Ukraine political TV host denied work permit

Savik Shuster, Ukraine’s most recognized political television talk show host, was denied a work permit by the Kyiv Employment Center, which cited an invalid criminal record document submitted. The decision was based on the criminal record lacking information about a UAH 13 mln fine imposed in January for tax evasion, said on April 25 Pavlo Elizarov, Shuster’s business partner.

Shuster, a citizen of Canada and Italia, said on television the same day the decision is part of a campaign of political pressure that began long ago, as reported by the pravda.com.ua news site. He declared a hunger strike until he’d get his work permit approved. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called upon the incident to be resolved as soon as possible. 

The decision to deny Shuster his work permit drew immediate concern from Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE representative on freedom of the media. She called upon the Ukrainian government to “actively investigate this matter and become convinced that journalist rights are protected and Shuster is allowed to continue to conduct his work freely and safely.”

Zenon Zawada: This development is troubling in that it bolsters accusations of authoritarian tactics and a campaign to usurp power being thrown at President Poroshenko. At its current course, taking into account its resistance to reforms and ongoing corruption, the president and his Cabinet are headed towards an inevitable conflict with civil society and NGOs, which are backed by the West.