Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Ukraine

Convicted Ukrainian Murderer Says He Killed Gongadze

President Kuchma

Kyiv, 21 June 2004 (RFE/RL) -- A convicted murdered in Ukraine has reportedly confessed to killing opposition journalist Heorhiy Gongadze in September 2000, a death in which Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has been accused of involvement.

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June 22, 2004

Ukrainian prosecutors said in a statement today that the murderer, known as "Mr. K," confessed to the killing. The Prosecutor's Office statement said "Mr. K" was of sound mind and that during questioning he detailed the circumstances of Gongadze's killing which matched facts known to prosecutors.

The statement from the Prosecutor's Office did not say whether the man acted alone or not. The confession comes after the British newspaper "The Independent" published an article on 19 June about a cover-up surrounding Gongadze's murder that alleged senior Ukrainian government officials were trying to wreck investigations into the journalist's murder.

(RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service/AFP)

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