Launching a new inquiry into the murder of the Ukrainian journalist Georgiy Gongadze

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Launching a new inquiry into the murder of the Ukrainian journalist Georgiy Gongadze

Doc. 10330
15 October 2004

Motion for a resolution
presented by Mrs Severinsen and others

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only the members who have signed it

1.       The Assembly is seriously concerned by the lack of any progress in the investigation of the murder of the Ukrainian journalist Georgiy Gongadze. September 16, 2004 was the fourth anniversary of his unsolved disappearance and brutal murder.

2.       The Assembly regrets the fact that, more than a year after the report presented by the independent expert it had designated, the Ukrainian authorities have not succeeded in finding and bringing to justice those guilty of this particularly horrible crime.

3.       Moreover, there are clear indications that the third prosecutor general appointed to deal with this case is not pursuing the investigation in an appropriate and timely manner. In this respect, the Assembly refers to the findings of the representatives of the International Federation of Journalists, the National Union of Journalists of the UK and Ireland, the Institute of Mass Information and the Gongadze Foundation, which were issued on October 1, 2004, and shares the concerns expressed therein.

4.       The Assembly regrets that the Verkhovna Rada inquiry commission was prevented from presenting its report on Gongadze and Alexandrov cases to a plenary session of the parliament.

5.       Stressing the importance of the Gongadze case for freedom of speech in Europe and democracy in Ukraine, the Assembly decides to follow closely and report on the legal and procedural developments of the investigation of the Gongadze case, in particular as regards:

-        the contradictory statements of the general prosecutor’s office on the so-called “Melnychenko tapes”;

-        the failure of the Ukrainian authorities to investigate the surveillance of Gongadze by interior ministry staff in the weeks prior to his murder and possible connections between this surveillance and the murder;

-        the possible connections between the Gongadze case, that of former police officer Ihor Honcharov (deceased), and criminal activity within the ministry of internal affairs;

-        the recent announcement that a suspect is in custody, and the failure to bring this suspect to court.

Signed ^[1]:
SEVERINSEN, Hanne, Denmark, LDR
ARVELADZ�, Giorgi, Georgia, NR
ATES, Abd�lkadir, Turkey, SOC
BARGHOLTZ, Helena, Sweden, LDR
BINDIG, Rudolf, Germany, SOC
BRUCE, Malcolm, United Kingdom, LDR
GORIS, Stef, Belgium, LDR
HERKEL, Andres, Estonia, EPP/CD
HOLOVATY, Serhiy, Ukraine, LDR
JAKIC, Roman, Slovenia, LDR
JARAB, Josef, Czech Republic, LDR
JUDD, United Kingdom, SOC
LINDBLAD, G�ran, Sweden, EPP/CD
LLOYD, Tony, United Kingdom, SOC
MIKKELSEN, Lars Kramer, Denmark, SOC
N�METH, Zsolt, Hungary, EPP/CD
PANGALOS, Theodoros, Greece, SOC
PETROVA-MITEVSKA, Eleonora, "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", SOC
POURGOURIDES, Christos, Cyprus, EPP/CD
RUSSELL-JOHNSTON, United Kingdom, LDR
TEVDORADZE, Elene, Georgia, EDG
TOSHEV, Latchezar, Bulgaria, EPP/CD

[1]

SOC
EPP
EDG
LDR
UEL
NR

Socialist Group
Group of the European People’s Party
European Democratic Group
Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group
Group of the Unified European Left
Not registered in a group