The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has cancelled the bill introducing amendments to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine concerning the tightening of responsibility for infringement on honor, dignity and business reputation, which was passed earlier at first reading.

The Ukrainian parliament considered the issue first on Tuesday. Some 349 MPs, including 174 members of the Regions Party parliamentary faction, 56 from the BYT-Batkivschyna faction, 45 from the Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense faction, 23 members of the Communist Party faction, 20 from the People's Party faction, 18 from the Reforms for the Future deputies' group, and 13 independent deputies voted for the decision.

On September 18, 2012 the Verkhovna Rada passed at first reading a bill by Vitaliy Zhuravsky introducing amendments to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine concerning the tightening of responsibility for infringement on honor, dignity and business reputation." The document proposes adding Article 145-1 on libel to the Criminal Code.

A national protest against the adoption of the bill started in Ukraine on September 25, 2012. A number of well-known media joined the protest.

On the same day, the author of the libel bill registered at the parliament a draft instruction on the cancellation of a decision by the Verkhovna Rada to pass at first reading the bill on amendments to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine on toughening punishments for the infringement of the honor, dignity and business reputation of a person.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych criticized the bill on the criminalization of libel.

On October 1, the leader of the Regions Party parliamentary faction, Oleksandr Yefremov, said that his party decided to support a decision to remove the libel bill from the agenda of the parliament.