Trial of accused baby sellers begins (12/29/96)

Trial of accused baby sellers begins

by Marta Kolomayets
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - The long-awaited trial of doctors and bureaucrats from Lviv accused of selling babies for adoption to foreigners in 1992-1994 finally began in the Ivano-Frankvisk Oblast Court on December 25.

But, as soon as it got under way, the trial was delayed until January 13, as one of the defendants, Lviv Deputy Gov. Yurii Zyma asked for time to have his lawyer review 26 volumes of information gathered by the other defendants.

Despite the fact that all four men are on trial, only three have been in jail for almost two years now, as prosecutors have gathered evidence to present a criminal case against them. The three are: Dr. Volodymyr Doroshenko, the head of Lviv's perinatal center; Dr. Bohdan Fedak, chairman of Lviv's Oblast Hospital; and Zinovii Ursul, the former chairman of the Halytskyi raion in Lviv.

Liudmyla Ornst, deputy head doctor of the Kamianka-Buzka hospital, was freed in August, during a general amnesty marking Ukraine's fifth anniversary of independence. She has agreed to testify against Drs. Doroshenko and Fedak. More than 100 witnesses are scheduled to testify during the trial.

Mr. Zyma remains a free man, but has signed a document that he will not leave the country during the trial. He has been charged with exceeding authority, abuse of an official post, forging official documents and negligence.

| Home Page |