BRAMA, June 23, 2004, 9:00 am ET
Press Release
Breakthrough in Gongadze case met with deep suspicion
© HK/BRAMA.COM
Georgy Gongadze
December 17, 1999
New York City
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New York, June 22, 2004 — Ukraine's prosecutor-general, Gennady Vasilev,
announced yesterday that investigators are questioning a suspect who
admitted to killing independent journalist Georgy Gongadze, local reports
said. The citizen, identified only as K, is a convicted murderer already in
prison for several other killings that involved decapitation, the manner in
which Gongadze was killed four years ago, according to Agence France-Presse
(AFP).
The Prosecutor-General's Office stated that in addition to confessing to the
murder, the suspect had described in detail the circumstances of Gongadze's
death, particularly the decapitation.
The announcement was met by skepticism, however. A number of local
opposition groups accused Ukrainian authorities of trying to avert public
attention from a report published in the London-based Independent on
Saturday, June 19, suggesting that President Leonid Kuchma impeded the
investigation into Gongadze's murder.
The Independent said it had obtained classified documents supporting its
allegations and also claimed to have the results of a secret autopsy
performed on the corpse of a key witness, Igor Goncharov, who died in police
custody in August 2003. Goncharov's body was cremated two days after his
death, before an autopsy was allegedly performed. The Independent also said
on Saturday that documents showed that an injection of a drug called
Thiopental caused Goncharov's death.
Early yesterday, prosecutors stated that they have evidence that Goncharov
died of injuries in prison last year. They said an inquiry into the abuse of
authority by prison officers had been launched. However, they dismissed the
Independent's allegations that Goncharov had been injected with Thiopental,
the AFP said.
"The timing of this announcement, combined with President Kuchma's repeated
interference in the investigation into Gongadze's murder, raises deep
suspicions," said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. "We urge the
prosecution to pursue every lead in the case and to investigate fully
allegations involving President Kuchma."
Gongadze was the editor of news Web site Ukrainska Pravda
(www.pravda.com.ua), which often featured critical articles about President
Leonid Kuchma and other Ukrainian government officials. He disappeared in
Kyiv in September of 2000, and his headless body was found in November of
that year.
For more information on Gongadze's case, click on CPJ's 2000 killed list and
scroll down to Ukraine.
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information about press
conditions in Ukraine, visit www.cpj.org.
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
330 Seventh Avenue, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-465-1004 (ext. 106)
Fax: 212-465-9568
Web: www.cpj.org
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