Most Ukrainian experts have said they did not expect the opening of a criminal case against second Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma as part of the investigation into the murder of journalist Georgy Gongadze, according to a new study.
The results of a poll entitled "The Case against Kuchma: Views of Experts" and conducted by the Democratic Initiatives Foundation were presented at a press conference in Kyiv on Monday.
"Most of the experts (35 out of the 55 polled experts) did not expect the opening of the criminal case against Kuchma in connection with the murder. Some experts (16) said that this case could have been opened, but not during the current government and only few (3) experts said that the opening of the case was expected," reads a press release by Democratic Initiatives.
At the same time, three reasons for the opening of the criminal case were the most popular among experts. Thus, 33 experts linked this to the attempt to normalize relations with the West and prove that the justice is not selective in Ukraine.
Some 27 experts said that the opening of the criminal case was an attempt to distract public attention from a worsening social situation. Another 24 experts supported the view that the criminal case was opened to seize a portion of the property of Kuchma’s son-in-law – Ukrainian businessman Victor Pinchuk. The experts were allowed to pick three out of 11 possible reasons.
