Ukraine ex-president, current parliament speaker implicated in journalist murder News
Ukraine ex-president, current parliament speaker implicated in journalist murder

[JURIST] A commission investigating the murder of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze [Wikipedia profile] five years ago reported their findings Wednesday, concluding that the slaying was instigated by former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma [Wikipedia profile] and the current speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament [official website] . Gongadze, an Internet journalist who reported high-level corruption, was kidnapped and killed in 2000. The commission said that the voices of Kuchma, Parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, and other officials are heard on recordings where they are allegedly conspiring against Gongadze. The inquiry also accused former President Leonid Kuchma of ordering the kidnapping and murder. In an address to parliament Tuesday, the head of the investigatory commission called for Lytvyn's resignation and asked for a no-confidence vote for Prosecutor General Svyatoslav Piskun. AP has more. Reporters Without Borders has a press release.

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