As Gongadze proceedings start, CPJ says much work remains (12/25/05)

As Gongadze proceedings start, CPJ says much work remains

NEW YORK - As court proceedings are about to begin against three defendants in the 2000 murder of Internet journalist Heorhii Gongadze, the Committee to Protect Journalists on December 16 urged Ukrainian authorities to identify and prosecute all those responsible for plotting the brutal slaying.

Preliminary hearings were set to begin on December 19 in Kyiv against former police officers Valerii Kostenko, Mykola Protasov and Oleksander Popovych, according to international news reports. A fourth suspect, Gen. Oleksander Pukach, former head of the Internal Affairs Ministry's criminal investigation department, is being sought on an arrest warrant, the news agency Interfax reported.

"This is a very important step in bringing to justice those responsible for the murder of our colleague Heorhii Gongadze," CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said. "Yet, much work remains. We urge Ukrainian authorities not to shy away from an aggressive pursuit of every lead - no matter how high a level it may reach."

The defendants are charged with premeditated murder and abuse of power in office in the killing of Gongadze, editor of the independent news website Ukrayinska Pravda, Interfax said. The Procurator General's Office said it is continuing to investigate those who may have ordered the killing.

Gongadze's murder was among the catalysts for the popular uprising in late 2004 that ousted former President Leonid Kuchma's corrupt government and propelled reformist President Viktor Yushchenko to power. Allegations of high-level government involvement in the Gongadze murder had dogged Mr. Kuchma throughout his final term.

On audiotapes made secretly by a former presidential bodyguard, President Kuchma is allegedly heard to instruct Internal Affairs Minister Yurii Kravchenko to "drive out" Gongadze and "give him to the Chechens," according to transcripts obtained by news agencies. Also in March, the Internal Affairs Ministry acknowledged that its officers had conducted surveillance of Gongadze shortly before he was abducted.

In September, a parliamentary commission investigating the case accused Mr. Kuchma, the late Mr. Kravchenko, Parliament Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn and former Security Services of Ukraine chief Leonid Derkach of plotting the journalist's murder. The commission recommended that the prosecutor general open criminal cases against Messrs. Kuchma, Lytvyn and Derkach. But the commission, which dissolved after its sensational September 20 announcement, had no judicial authority, and prosecutors are not bound to act upon its findings.

The presidential bodyguard, Mykola Melnychenko, returned to Ukraine on November 30 after a five-year absence. He is expected to be among the prosecution witnesses. Mr. Melnychenko told reporters he was "back for justice to triumph and Kuchma to be held responsible," the Associated Press reported.

Gongadze's family has repeatedly complained about the slow progress of the investigation, particularly the efforts to identify and prosecute the masterminds.

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CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information on Ukraine, visit www.cpj.org.

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