MENU
Documenting
war crimes in Ukraine

The Tribunal for Putin (T4P) global initiative was set up in response to the all-out war launched by Russia against Ukraine in February 2022.

Appeal of G. Omelchenko, the head of the temporary special commission of the Supreme Rada for the investigation of murders of journalists Georgiy Gongadze and Igor Aleksandrov

08.04.2004   

G. Omelchenko, the head of the temporary special commission of the Supreme Rada for the investigation of murders of journalists Georgiy Gongadze and Igor Aleksandrov, stated in the Parliament that General Prosecutor of Ukraine Sviatoslav Piskun had the information about the participants of kidnapping and murder of Gongadze. Omelchenko communicated with Piskun on 24 June, and the latter told that that the participants of kidnapping and murder of G. Gongadze were found. On 28 June the newspaper “Segodnia” published the article “The murderer of Gongadze is, probably, arrested”. The author of the article referred to the data got by the newspaper from the confidential sources and informed that “an officer of one of the force structures of Ukraine is suspected of G. Gongadze’s murder” and that “this man is either arrested or is going to be arrested in the nearest future”. Besides, the publication reads: “militiamen transported two men from Lviv, who are suspected of the murder of Igor Aleksandrov. These men were members of an organized criminal group, so, more people will be detained in the connection with this case”. On 4 July, in his interview to the Kyiv correspondent of the newspaper “Vremia novostey”, G. Omelchenko declared: “The special commission, which investigates the case of Gongadze along with the General Prosecutor’s office, established that the kidnapping had been organized by President Leonid Kuchma, former head of President’s administration Volodymir Litvin, ex-head of the USS Leonid Derkach and former Minister of Interior Yuri Kravchenko”.

“The kidnapping and murder were committed by militia officers. This is confirmed by the audio records made by major Nikolay Melnochenko, an officer of Kuchma’s guard. These materials will be passed to the General Prosecutor’s office for the legal assessment”, told G. Omelchenko. He also pointed out: “The day, when the President ordered to kidnap Gongadze was reconstructed in details. We know who visited the President that day. The talks of the visitors of President’s office are fixed on Melnichenko’s records in the chronological order. These persons listened to the records and confirmed everything. Now the President cannot deny that he talked with Kravchenko and Derkach about the kidnapping of Gongadze. The authenticity of this fragment of the record was confirmed by the American experts”.

On 14 July, at the press conference, General Prosecutor S. Piskun told that the law-enforcing organs were still trying to learn whether the so-called “gang of turnskins” had been involved in Gongadze’s murder. He also informed that the General Prosecutor’s office disclosed 14 murders committed by this gang, which was headed by militia officers. The members of this criminal group are also suspected of the disappearance of many people. The General Prosecutor pointed out that the case of this gang would be passed to court within 2-3 months. Last year the Kyiv militia disclosed the criminal group, which had been acting since 1997 and included several former militiamen. Now the accusations have been brought against 13 members of this gang, among them – six ex-militiamen. The criminals mainly “specialized” in kidnapping. Yet, most often, the criminals murdered their victims before obtaining the ransom.

1 July 2003, Institute of mass information, «Barometr svobody slova», July 2003

 Share this