The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is anxious of lack of progress in prosecution of reporter George Gongadze’s murder’s organizers and paymasters. PACE adopted the resolution on Tuesday, January, 27, according to MigNews.
In particular, according to PACE, the case cannot be considered close until organizers are not brought to the account.
PACE welcomes sentence to deprive three former militiamen that killed Gongadze but regrets that militia general Aleksey Pukach was released and then disappeared and former Minister for Interior Affairs Yuri Kravchenko died under unascertained circumstances.
PACE considers law machinery should check authenticity of records known as the so-called “Melnichenko’s records”.
According to resolution, PACE welcomes invitation of foreign experts for participation in the records checkup and equipment by the General Prosecutor’s Office. At the same time, PACE regrets that it takes much time to make an official request for cooperation.
PACE intends to follow the case within a framework of Ukraine’s monitoring, Ukrayinski novyny cites resolution as saying.
PACE reviewed investigation of the case on the Gongadze’s murder on January, 27. In January 2007 PACE condemned Gongadze’s murder and demanded from Ukraine investigating the case on his death. In July 2008 the Supreme Court did not change the sentence of the Appeal court if Kyiv. According to it, he sentenced principals of Gongadze’s murder Nickolay Protasov to 13 years of deprivation of liberty, Valery Kostenko and Alexander Popovich – to 12 years.
As a reminder, George Gongadze disappeared on September, 16 2000. Later his corpse without his head was found in the forest near Kyiv.
