The deputy editor-in-chief of the Ukrainska Pravda online newspaper, Serhiy Leschenko, has filed a statement at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on February 19, 2013 in order to defend his right of access to information, after he was unable to obtain the necessary materials on the purchase and sale of a land plot in Mezhyhiria (Vyshgorod district, Kyiv region) in the interests of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

Leschenko said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday that he would appeal at the ECHR against the decision of the Ukrainian courts on the sale of a state-owned land plot in Mezhyhiria to the Ukrainian president.

He said that Vyshgorod District State Administration and the courts of all instances in Ukraine had decided that this information cannot be provided to the journalist, although the legislation on access to information envisages the absolute transparency of data on the disposal of state property.

"Mezhyhiria is a 'taboo subject' in Ukraine. When a government agency gets a query on this subject the official responsible for access to information falls into a coma. All information about this transaction is classified under all grounds, and contrary to law," Leschenko said.

He noted that the judicial process in Ukraine on this issue lasted from August 2011 to November 2012.