02/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - Withdrawal of slander bill. The secretary general of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, welcomed, on Tuesday 2 October, the withdrawal of the slander bill submitted to the Ukrainian parliament. Underlining that it is legitimate to deal with slander, Jagland said that the choice of criminal sanction is counter-indicated. He also urged the Ukrainian authorities to begin dialogue with the media organisations, civil society and all political forces in order to agree on ways that civilians can appeal, to provide sufficient protection against slander, without unjustly entailing interference in freedom of expression. (CG/transl.jl)