Financial Times: Prosecutors don’t think Kuchma ordered Gongadze murder

Roman Olearchyk writes: Ukraine’s general prosecutor made clear on May 27 for the first time in a long-running investigation that Leonid Kuchma, Kyiv’s former president, is not suspected of actually ordering the 2000 murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze, only of “exceeding authority” in actions that led to the journalists death.

In an interview with the respected Zerkalo Nedeli weekly, Viktor Pshonka said that “Kuchma had no intent for the end result of this tragedy.” No explanation was provided of what role Kuchma was suspected of having in the journalist’s kidnapping and brutal murder.

President from 1994-2005, Kuchma has repeatedly denied involvement in the murder of Gongadze, whose reporting was critical of the authorities. But Kuchma and senior officials in his administration have long been suspected by critics and Gongadze’s widow to have played a role in the murder and subsequent cover-up. Valentyna Telychenko, the lawyer for Gongadze’s widow, said she suspected attempts to “cover-up” the truth in the case were continuing.

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