A training for lawyers on protecting freedom of speech in wartime was held in Chernihiv

The Chernihiv Oblast Bar Council, in partnership with the NGO “Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights” and the All-Ukrainian Coalition for Legal Aid, held a specialized seminar for lawyers in the Chernihiv region, dedicated to the protection of freedom of speech and the media.

The purpose of the training: to provide lawyers and advocates of the Chernihiv Oblast with knowledge and tools to ensure the legal protection of journalistic activities in the context of the armed conflict in Ukraine and to ensure the protection of standards of freedom of expression and access to public information at the local level.

The speaker of the event was the assistant judge of the Supreme Court

Natalia Mylyukhina

.

The training program, in particular, considered key aspects:

– legal regulation of freedom of speech in martial law;

– international standards for the protection of journalists;

– features of documenting violations of journalists’ rights;

– algorithms for lawyers’ actions in cases of detention, restrictions on access to information or pressure on the media;

– ECHR practice on freedom of expression in the context of military conflicts.

“In times of war, the role of journalists is critically important, and our responsibility as human rights defenders is to provide them with proper legal protection. This training is an important step towards building a network of specialists capable of acting effectively even in martial law,” said

Natalia Kulikova

, representative of the NGO “Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights”.

The activity is carried out within the framework of the project “The Bar and local media: building synergy for the Freedom of Speech”, which is implemented by the All-Ukrainian Coalition for Legal Aid in cooperation with the NGO “Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights” thanks to the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.