CPJ concerned by irregularities in Ukraine’s Gongadze case
Dear President Yanukovych: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by reports of irregularities in the decade-long investigation into the 2000 kidnapping and murder of Internet journalist Georgy Gongadze. Particularly, CPJ is disturbed by efforts to derail progress in the investigation and peg the ultimate responsibility for the murder on a dead suspect, while other leads in the case languish. Since assuming office in March, you have publicly stated your commitment to press freedom in Ukraine. The case of Georgy Gongadze is a litmus test for you and your administration, and we urge you to ensure that none of the perpetrators of his kidnapping and killing are allowed to walk free.
Attacks on the Press 2010: Europe and Central Asia Analysis
On the Runet, Old-School Repression Meets New By Nina Ognianova and Danny O’Brien Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has often talked about the importance of a free press and free Internet, telling reporters before his election that the Web “guarantees the independence of mass media.” He explicitly tied the two together in his first State of…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Ukraine
Top Developments • Provincial reporters targeted in a series of attacks; editor reported missing. • Television journalists continue to face heavy political influence. Key Statistic 1: Mastermind identified in Gongadze murder. Prosecutors stir controversy by blaming only a dead official for the plot. The disappearance of a critical editor, a series of violent attacks, and…
Ukraine says late minister ordered Gongadze murder
New York, September 16, 2010–On Tuesday, Ukrainian prosecutors announced that the late Interior Minister Yuri Kravchenko had ordered the 2000 murder of muckraking Internet journalist Georgy Gongadze, left, whose decapitated body was found 10 years ago today in a forest outside Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.Ukraine’s prosecutor-general’s office said in a statement that investigators have finished their probe. The investigation…
Attacks on the Press 2009: Ukraine
Top Developments• Broadcast media face strong political pressure.• Ex-Interior Ministry official arrested in Gongadze murder. Key Statistic 5: Years since the Orange Revolution. Optimism has since dimmed. A deep recession, tensions with neighboring Russia, and a coming presidential election placed greater stress on the country’s already weak and fractured political leadership. While the media remained freer and…
Independent broadcasters harassed, taken off air in Ukraine
New York, November 20, 2009—Authorities in Odessa, Ukraine, should immediately cease harassment of independent and pro-opposition broadcasters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Officials from the Odessa Public Utility Service and mayor’s office have been physically obstructing the work of several local television and radio stations on the grounds of alleged building renovation, according…
Three convicted in the abduction and murder of Georgy Gongadze
UKRAINE: New York, March 17, 2008—An appeals court in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, convicted on Saturday three suspects in the 2000 abduction and murder of Internet journalist Georgy Gongadze. The court sentenced a former police officer, Nikolai Protasov, to 13 years in prison; his fellow officers, Valery Kostenko and Aleksandr Popovych, were given 12-year terms.…