Ukraine parliament passes tough anti-protest laws

Ukraine’s parliament has passed a tough anti-protest legislation amid ongoing demonstrations against the government.

The new legislation, which has yet to be signed into law by President Victor Yanukovych, was backed by 235 out of 450 lawmakers on Thursday, AFP reported.

The measures include up to five-year jail terms for blockading government buildings, hefty fines and prison terms for protesters who wear face masks and helmets, and driving bans for people who form convoys of more than five cars.

According to the anti-protest legislation, people and organizations who provided facilities or equipment for unauthorized meetings would be liable to a fine of up to $1,275, or detention of up to 10 days.

Publishing slander on the Internet or mass media would be punishable by a fine or corrective labor of up to one year as well.

The tough legislation has caused an outcry from the opposition which says the measures pave the way for a crackdown on anti-government protesters.

“This is nothing else but an overthrow of the constitutional system and a power grab in Ukraine,” said Arseniy Yatsenyuk, leader of the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party.

Ukraine has been rocked by anti-government protests after President Yanukovych refrained from signing a trade agreement with the European Union at the third Eastern Partnership Summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on November 29, 2013.

Kiev refused to sign the agreement after EU leaders called on Ukraine to allow jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymshenko to travel overseas for medical treatment.

European Union leaders have blamed Russia for Ukraine’s refusal to sign the deal with the bloc, saying they will not allow Moscow to “veto” deals in Eastern Europe.

However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Western countries of losing “their sense of reality” over Ukraine’s crisis. He has also charged them with using blackmail to cut Kiev off from Russia.