The Kyiv Post, the Ukrainian newspaper that blocked traffic from the UK following libel lawsuit, removed its ban on UK traffic yesterday.
The newspaper’s editor, Brian Bonner, e-mailed iMediaEthics letting us know about the ban’s removal. He also included a link to the site’s announcement on the removal (see here).
The ban was started in mid-December as the result of a libel lawsuit filed in the UK against the Kyiv Post. The suit was dismissed in late February and according to the Kyiv Post, “the appeals period has now lapsed.”
At the time of the judge’s dismissal, Index on Censorship reported that the libel suit was rejected because it was out of its jurisdiction being filed in the UK.
While UK visitors can go to the Kyiv Post’s site, the July 2, 2010, story that led to the libel lawsuit is still blocked for UK visitors.
In an announcement on its website, the Kyiv Post explained that it “instituted the block in protest of England’s draconian libel laws which restrict legitimate free speech in numerous ways, including placing the burden of proof on defendants rather than plaintiffs.” The Kyiv Post noted that there is currently a libel law reform effort in the UK and redirected readers to the Libel Reform Campaign’s website, www.libelreform.org.
Read more about the ban and the original libel lawsuit here. Read here about the recently proposed draft defamation bill in the UK.