Freedom House: Ukraine dips badly in democratic rating for a second year

Ukraine, according to Freedom House, suffered the deepest regression in democracy of any major country during the past two years. It is the second consecutive year that Freedom House marked a decline in political rights and civil liberties in Ukraine.

“Ukraine suffered a major decline due to President Viktor Yanukovych’s moves to crush the political opposition through a variety of anti-democratic tactics, including the prosecution of opposition political leader and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, ” Freedom House said.

The annual report said Ukraine’s significant drop from 2010, when it fell into the “partly free” category of nations, is due to the politicized use of courts.

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