Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland has praised the cancellation of the bill on criminalization of libel by the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament.

"I welcome the fact that the draft law criminalizing defamation has been withdrawn from the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Defamation is a legitimate concern, but criminal sanctions are the wrong response," reads his official statement posted on the Web site of the CoE on Tuesday.

Jagland encourage the Ukrainian authorities to engage in a dialogue with media organizations, civil society and all political forces, in order to agree on civil remedies that offer adequate protection against defamation without unjustly interfering with freedom of expression.

As reported, on Tuesday the Verkhovna Rada has cancelled a bill introducing amendments to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine concerning the tightening of responsibility for infringements of honor, dignity and business reputation by 349 votes.

On September 18, 2012 the parliament passed at first reading the bill that proposed adding Article 145-1 on libel to the Criminal Code.