Ukraine: President bans opposition media Strana.ua and sanctions editor-in-chief

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj last week banned the opposition media news site Strana.ua and imposed sanctions on its editor-in-chief, Ihor Huzhva. Lawyers have criticised these measures for their “lack of legal basis”. This decision comes only six months after closing down three TV channels in early 2021. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliate in Ukraine, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), in calling this extrajudicial action a threat to press freedom and media pluralism in the country. On 21 August 2021, it was revealed that President Volodymyr Zelenskyj banned Strana.ua, one of the largest news…