Forensics experts in Ukraine are trying to identify fragments of a human skull found in the Bilotserkivski district of Kyiv Oblast, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has reported. The investigators suspect that the remains are those of independent journalist Heorhiy Gongadze, who was abducted and beheaded by unknown assailants in 2000.
Gongadze, known for his criticism of the Ukrainian government, was kidnapped on September 16, 2000, and his decapitated body was found two months later in a wood near Kiev. The murder sparked protests against the then president, Leonid Kuchma.
On July 22, former Ukrainian police official Oleksiy Pukach was detained and confessed that he was directly involved in Gongadze's killing. He cooperated with investigators and showed them a site where Gongadze’s head might be. Ukrainian authorities officially charged Pukach with manslaughter on July 24.
Valentyna Telichenko, the lawyer for Gongadze’s widow Miroslava, told RFE/RL that even if the skull is confirmed to be the journalist’s, there is no guarantee that other individuals involved in the murder would be prosecuted. Gongadze’s relatives and their lawyers believe that he was killed because of his journalism work.
Three men — Col Valeriy Kostenko, Col Mykola Protasov and Maj Oleksandr Popovych, all senior officers in the interior ministry, were arrested in August 2005. Last year they were sentenced to 12-13 years in prison.
The officers, who admitted to the murder, said earlier that the killing had been carried out on orders from Pukach, who was responsible for surveillance of Gongadze at the time of the abduction. Pukach evaded arrest and fled to Israel several years ago. He was put on Ukraine's most-wanted list.
