Paris, France, and Darmstadt, Germany, 30 September 2010

For Immediate Release

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) together with the World Editors Forum urge Ukrainian authorities to conduct transparent investigations into the murder of journalist Georgy Gongadze after a decade spent mishandling the case.

On 14 September prosecutors announced that the late Interior Minister Yuri Kravchenko had ordered the murder of Mr Gongadze, an online journalist and founder of the Internet newspaper Ukrainska Pravda, whose decapitated body was found in a forest outside Kyiv on 16 September 2000.

The prosecutor-general’s office reported that the investigation had identified General Aleksei Pukach, who was arrested in July 2009, as the killer and Mr Kravchenko as the architect of the murder.

However, Mr Kravchenko was found dead in March 2005 on the day he was to be questioned. Authorities ruled his death a suicide, despite reports of him having been shot twice in the head.

Allegations persist that former President Leonid Kuchma was involved in the murder. Mr Kuchma, a frequent target for criticism in Mr Gongadze’s reporting, was allegedly recorded by a former presidential bodyguard instructing Mr Kravchenko to "drive out" Mr Gongadze and "give him to the Chechens".

Repeated obstructions and failures in the investigation of Mr Gongadze’s murder, including key witnesses not being required to give evidence in court and conclusions being drawn without sufficient evidence, have contributed to a general climate of fear of impunity among the Ukrainian media.

In a letter sent to current President Viktor Yanukovych, WAN-IFRA called on him to “ensure full disclosure of the investigation into Mr Gongadze's murder and to take all steps necessary to bring those responsible to justice.”

The full letter read:

We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries, to call on you to ensure that investigations into the murder of journalist Georgy Gongadze ten years ago will continue following recent developments in the case.

According to reports, on 14 September prosecutors announced that the late Interior Minister Yuri Kravchenko had ordered the murder of Mr Gongadze, an online journalist and founder of the Internet newspaper Ukrainska Pravda, whose decapitated body was found on 16 September, 2000, in a forest outside Kyiv.

The prosecutor-general’s office reported that the investigation identified General Aleksei Pukach, who was arrested in July 2009, as the killer and Mr Kravchenko as the architect of the murder, despite there being no known motive for him to have ordered the killing on his own behalf.  Mr Pukach is in custody and, in May, three ex-policemen were handed terms of 12 and 13 years in prison over their role.

Mr Kravchenko was found dead in March 2005 with gunshot wounds to his head on the day he was to be questioned about Mr Gongadze’s murder. Authorities ruled his death a suicide, despite the fact that he was reportedly shot twice in the head.

We respectfully call on you to ensure that the investigation into the murder continue, particularly in light of allegations that former President Leonid Kuchma was involved in the murder. Mr Kuchma, who was frequently criticised by Mr Gongadze in his reporting, was allegedly recorded by a former presidential bodyguard instructing Mr Kravchenko to "drive out" Mr Gongadze and "give him to the Chechens".

We are seriously concerned at repeated obstructions and failures in the investigation of Mr Gongadze’s murder, including key witnesses not being required to give evidence in court, and that conclusions have been drawn without sufficient evidence. As long as uncertainty surrounds the murder of Mr Gongadze, the press will continue to operate in a climate of fear.

We respectfully call on you to ensure full disclosure of the investigation into Mr Gongadze's murder and to take all steps necessary to bring all those responsible to justice. We ask you to ensure that in future your country fully respects international standards of press freedom.

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Read more WAN-IFRA protest campaigns at http://www.wan-press.org/pfreedom/home.php

About WAN-IFRA

WAN-IFRA, based in Paris, France, and Darmstadt, Germany, with subsidiaries in Singapore, India, Spain, France and Sweden, is the global organisation of the world’s newspapers and news publishers. It represents more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries. The organisation was created by the merger of the World Association of Newspapers and IFRA, the research and service organisation for the news publishing industry.

Learn more about WAN-IFRA at http://www.wan-ifra.org or through the WAN-IFRA Magazine at http://www.wan-ifra.org/magazine

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, WAN-IFRA, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, 75005 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: larry.kilman@wan-ifra.org