Instead of treating him like a whistleblower who might help solve some of the nation’s worst crimes, authorities arrested him at Boryspil International Airport on Oct. 24.
He is accused of disclosing state secrets, but his friends proclaim his innocence and say he is ready to tell the truth. Others believe that he made a deal with Ukraine’s law enforcers, which had earlier issued his international arrest warrant. Reports quickly surfaced that Melnychenko may be used as a wedge against ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
Since prosecutors have suddenly taken an interest in old criminal cases involving Melnychenko and Tymoshenko, the Kyiv Post suggests that they dig further and get to the bottom of these cases: whether Kuchma allegedly ordered the murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze in 2000, the dozens of alleged high-level crimes caught on the “Melnychenko tapes,” including extortion of businesses by tax authorities allegedly at now-Prime Minister Mykola Azarov’s orders (he and all others deny all allegations on the tapes), the poisoning of ex-President Viktor Yushchenko, those responsible for the 2004 presidential election fraud, crimes – including murder – committed during Ukraine’s privatization of state-owned industries…and so forth.
Regrettably, prosecutors are again displaying a political approach in setting priorities. It’s selective prosecution. It’s also a sham.
