Yanukovych opposed slander bill from very beginning, says Herman

Kyiv, September 26 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych had a principal position on the slander bill from the very beginning.

"From the very beginning, when the Verkhovna Rada passed the bill on slander, the president made a very firm and categorical statement. He said that he would never sign a bill that could restrain and limit the freedom of speech in Ukraine or infringe on the right of people to express their opinion," the president's adviser, Hanna Herman, told Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.

"The fact that [Regions Party MP Vitaliy] Zhuravsky withdrew his bill is a direct result of the Ukrainian president's position," she said.

Herman added that this was a victory for democratic forces in Ukraine and a very good signal for the whole of society, as a mistake was admitted and corrected as soon as possible.

Earlier, Herman had said that the president would sign the slander bill if it were passed by parliament in the wording approved at first reading.