You're reading: Kuchma cleared of criminal charges related to reporter’s murder

A court of appeals in Kyiv has upheld the decision not to start a criminal case against Ukraine's second president Leonid Kuchma [whose tenure lasted from 1995 to 2005], related to his suspected involvement in the killing of reporter Georgy Gongadze.

The court’s board of judges announced its decision on Friday after hearing prosecutors’ and the injured party’s appeal against the decision of Kyiv’s Pechersky Court not to start a criminal case against Kuchma.

A criminal case was started against Kuchma on March 21 2011 on counts of exceeding authority, which led to the killing of journalist Gongadze, earlier reports said.

On Dec. 13, 2011, Kyiv’s Pechersky Court found the decision to start a criminal case against Kuchma unlawful and overturned the prosecutors’ relevant request.

Maj. Mykola Melnichenko’s notes were not recognized as evidence in the Gongadze murder case and were rejected.

On Dec. 19 this decision was appealed by the Prosecutor General’s Office.