Three years of reporting, funded by our readers — become a member now and help us prepare for 2025.
Goal: 1,000 new members for our birthday. Gift a membership to your friend and help us prepare for what 2025 might bring.
Become a member Gift membership
Skip to content
Edit post

Impunity kills: Kyiv Independent joins call for further investigation of journalist Georgiy Gongadze’s murder

September 16, 2022 2:18 PM 2 min read
This audio is created with AI assistance

Editor’s Note: The Kyiv Independent publishes a joint statement of Ukrainian media outlets on the day Ukrainian journalist Georgiy Gongadze was kidnapped in 2000. He was later found dead near Kyiv. Though the perpetrators of this crime were imprisoned, those who ordered the assassination were never identified and punished.

On Sept. 16, 2000, a group of law enforcers kidnapped journalist and founder of the Ukrainska Pravda media outlet Georgiy Gongadze. His mutilated headless body was found in November of that year in a forest in Kyiv Oblast.

Today marks 22 years since these horrific events. Since then, partial justice has been served thanks to the efforts of Gongadze’s family, the media community, and international organizations. All perpetrators of the crime were punished. However, those who ordered the murder of Gongadze have not been officially named.

Gongadze's death is one of the most notorious, but, unfortunately, not the only case of the violent death of a Ukrainian journalist. On July 20, 2016, journalist Pavlo Sheremet was killed in Kyiv. The investigation into those who ordered the murder of Sheremet is still ongoing.

On May 4, 2019, journalist Vadym Komarov was brutally beaten in the city of Cherkasy. After 46 days in a coma, he died. The crime still remains unsolved, and the perpetrators along with those who ordered the murder remain unpunished.

We demand from the authorities:

  • to identify and punish those who ordered the murder of Gongadze, namely, give a clear answer regarding the alleged complicity of ex-president Leonid Kuchma in ordering it;
  • to identify and punish the perpetrators and those who ordered the murder of Sheremet, as well as speed up the investigation of other cases of journalists’ murder, where perpetrators and those who ordered them have not yet been officially identified;
  • to increase the effectiveness of the investigation of criminal offenses against Ukrainian journalists, and to provide journalists with effective protection and an adequate level of security.

Today we also honor 38 of our fellow journalists who have been killed by the Russian military in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion this year. Eight of them were killed while being on assignment.

We call on the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies to promptly investigate all these murders, which are war crimes of the Russian Federation, and to ensure justice not only in Ukraine, but also to put all necessary effort into bringing Russian criminals to the international tribunal.

Ukraine is fighting for its independence. Every day Ukrainians pay a high price with their lives for the society to live in a democracy with the rule of law.

After the victory, Ukraine will rebuild its life, and it is crucial for all the murderers of heroes — soldiers, journalists, activists — to be punished.

Three years of reporting, funded by our readers.
Millions read the Kyiv Independent, but only one in 10,000 readers makes a financial contribution. Thanks to our community we've been able to keep our reporting free and accessible to everyone. For our third birthday, we're looking for 1,000 new members to help fund our mission and to help us prepare for what 2025 might bring.
Three years. Millions of readers. All thanks to 12,000 supporters.
It’s thanks to readers like you that we can celebrate another birthday this November. We’re looking for another 1,000 members to help fund our mission, keep our journalism accessible for all, and prepare for whatever 2025 might bring. Consider gifting a membership today or help us spread the word.
Help us get 1,000 new members!
Become a member Gift membership
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

3:44 PM

Russian ICBM strike would be 'clear escalation,' EU says.

"While we're assessing the full facts, it's obvious that such (an) attack would mark yet another clear escalation from the side of (Russian President Vladimir Putin," EU foreign affairs spokesperson Peter Stano said, according to AFP.
1:40 PM

Merkel describes Trump as 'fascinated by Putin' in her memoir.

"(Donald Trump) saw everything from the point of view of a property developer, which is what he was before he came into politics. Every plot of land could only be sold once, and if he didn't get it, someone else would," Angela Merkel says in her memoir.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.