Parliament has elected Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, a representative of the Voice faction, as chairman of the committee on freedom of speech. The decision was backed by 247 MPs, according to MP from the European Solidarity faction Iryna Herashchenko.
Voice MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak noted that the committee already has four members: "chairman – Yurchyshyn, his deputy – Brahar, secretary – Shvets. And an ordinary member is Shufrych... but he will not be able to attend the meetings yet," Zheleznyak said.
On Telegram, Yurchyshyn commented on his appointment and outlined the priorities of the Committee's work.
"I would like to immediately identify the most important areas of work:
1. More freedom and fewer obstacles to journalistic activity. I consider attacks on journalists, attempts to cover cameras during filming, threats, etc. to be categorically unacceptable. Within my competence, I will defend the rights of media professionals to access information.
2. Journalists in captivity. The occupiers are taking people prisoner who did not hold weapons. The priority is to make efforts to free our media workers from Russian captivity.
3. Preventing fakes. You have heard many times about the spread of false information by anonymous Telegram channels. The SBU has already exposed entire networks working for enemy intelligence services. My personal advice is to trust only official sources of communication and media with a good reputation that they have built over the years. And I plan to work with the Ministry of Education on the issue of a media literacy course. Critical thinking is the best defence against fakes and propaganda."
Yaroslav Yurchyshyn
Member of the Verkhovna Rada of the IX convocation since 2019. No 7 on the Voice party's election list. Member of the Voice faction. First deputy chairman of the committee on anti-corruption policy.