The criminal charges should have come nearly 11 years ago, but nevertheless the accusations against ex-President Leonid Kuchma in the Sept. 16, 2000 murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze are welcome even at this late date.
We fear, however, that justice may still not come from prosecutors’ belated allegations on March 24 that Kuchma set in motion the gruesome events that led to the kidnapping, beating, strangulation and beheading of the accomplished 31-year-old journalist. Gongadze’s only crime was daring to challenge a tyrant with his journalism.
The Gongadze case alone demonstrates Ukraine’s ongoing need for an independent special prosecutor so that sensitive criminal investigations of this type are not left to the subservient political hacks who occupy posts at the General Prosecutor’s Office and throughout law enforcement.
The case, from the outset, has been beset by incompetence, stonewalling and cover-ups – some of it likely directed by Kuchma and the former top officials of his inner circle, some of whom remain implicated in the murder.
The Gongadze case alone demonstrates Ukraine’s ongoing need for an independent special prosecutor so that sensitive criminal investigations of this type are not left to the subservient political hacks who occupy posts at the General Prosecutor’s Office and throughout law enforcement.
Despite all the attempts to throttle the investigation and deflect blame, evidence pointing to the truth did dribble out over time. Taken together, the facts add up to a compelling case against Kuchma, who deserves the presumption of innocence and his day in court to answer the allegations.
Gongadze, founder of the Ukrainska Pravda news site, was trailed in the weeks before his death by men in cars whose license plates traced back to an Interior Ministry police unit. He wrote a letter to prosecutors complaining about the surveillance and asking for protection that never came.
The interior minister at the time, Yuriy Kravchenko, was a close confidante of Kuchma. Four top officials – Kuchma, Kravchenko, former Security Service of Ukraine chief Leonid Derkach and former Kuchma chief of staff Volodymyr Lytvyn, now the speaker of parliament – were allegedly caught on tape discussing ways of silencing Gongadze.
These were part of the tape recordings made public by ex-Kuchma bodyguard Mykola Melnychenko.
On March 4, 2005, two gunshot wounds to the head killed Kravchenko on the day he was supposed to give testimony in the Gongadze case. The official ruling of suicide is suspect, so is a reported suicide note in which Kravchenko says he is victim of intrigues by Kuchma.
Three years later, in 2008, three Interior Ministry police officers were convicted of being among the four men who kidnapped Gongadze. The fourth, former Interior Ministry General Oleksiy Pukach, went into hiding years earlier before authorities caught up with him in rural Zhytomyr Oblast on July 21, 2009.
The charges against Kuchma give ample reason to suspect that authorities are just sending out another smokescreen to placate the public.
Held in confinement for nearly two years, police have still not made public his testimony and alleged confession. But one of his former lawyers and leaked portions of Pukach’s testimony clearly implicate Kuchma and Lytvyn in Gongadze’s murder.
The charges against Kuchma give ample reason to suspect that authorities are just sending out another smokescreen to placate the public. Instead of being charged with murder, Kuchma is charged with “exceeding his authority” in giving orders to the Interior Ministry that led to Gongadze’s death.
The crime carries a 10-year statute of limitations that may have expired, casting doubt about whether Kuchma would face any punishment if convicted.
The ex-president is simply being charged with the wrong crime. Murder is the only charge that fits if Kuchma gave the order – and murder charges carry no statute of limitations. If Kuchma is convicted of a crime that carries no punishment, this would be a travesty.
The public should not get sidetracked on diversionary theories and intrigues. Two of the most frequent absurdities that have popped up over the years are: Kuchma is being set up for the murder by enemies or Kuchma only wanted police to scare Gongadze.
Both are utter nonsense when taking into account the cover-up of the case that took place under Kuchma’s authoritarian rule. A president with nothing to hide hides nothing, while Kuchma did everything to throw people off the trail.
One clear test of the authorities’ commitment to justice is how long it takes to bring Kuchma to trial.
As for the bogus argument that Kuchma only wanted police to scare Gongadze, it is akin to one bank robber denying responsibility for an accomplice’s shooting of the bank teller. In the eyes of the law, the robber who didn’t shoot is an accomplice to the murder.
Kuchma, even if he ordered officers to just scare Gongadze, is still responsible for the resulting murder.
The authorities may not even realize what they have unleashed in society. Fresh questions will be raised about their timing and motives. The Melnychenko tapes and the crimes they allegedly caught Kuchma committing will receive renewed credibility.
One clear test of the authorities’ commitment to justice is how long it takes to bring Kuchma to trial.
Most of the evidence seemingly has been known for nearly 11 years. This means that weeks should not slip into months before Kuchma faces a public trial. If the case drags on, the public will know for sure what they already suspect: that the March 24 charges are just the latest phase of the Gongadze cover-up.
Read also ‘Kuchma charged in Gongadze’s murder‘.
