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| Ukraine Gongadze case: Court convicts journalist's killer | Ukraine Gongadze case: Court convicts journalist's killer |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A Ukrainian court has convicted a former police chief of murdering journalist Georgy Gongadze in 2000, a crime which rocked the country. | A Ukrainian court has convicted a former police chief of murdering journalist Georgy Gongadze in 2000, a crime which rocked the country. |
| The court in Kiev found that Olexiy Pukach had killed the journalist, then cut off his head. It sentenced Pukach to life imprisonment. | The court in Kiev found that Olexiy Pukach had killed the journalist, then cut off his head. It sentenced Pukach to life imprisonment. |
| Pukach confessed but said he had acted on the orders of the late Interior Minister, Yuri Kravchenko. | Pukach confessed but said he had acted on the orders of the late Interior Minister, Yuri Kravchenko. |
| The murder sparked protests against the president at the time, Leonid Kuchma. | The murder sparked protests against the president at the time, Leonid Kuchma. |
| An attempt to prosecute Mr Kuchma for ordering the killing collapsed in December 2011 when a judge ruled that secret audio recordings which apparently incriminated him could not be used as evidence, as they had been obtained through "illegal means". | An attempt to prosecute Mr Kuchma for ordering the killing collapsed in December 2011 when a judge ruled that secret audio recordings which apparently incriminated him could not be used as evidence, as they had been obtained through "illegal means". |
| Mr Kuchma has always denied involvement in the journalist's murder. | Mr Kuchma has always denied involvement in the journalist's murder. |
| A few months before his death, Georgy Gongadze founded the news website Ukrainskaya Pravda, which was sharply critical of the Kuchma presidency. | |
| Testimony | Testimony |
| While serving as head of the Ukrainian interior ministry's external surveillance service, Pukach tracked Gongadze, the court found. | While serving as head of the Ukrainian interior ministry's external surveillance service, Pukach tracked Gongadze, the court found. |
| Pukach testified that he had accidentally strangled the journalist with a belt while interrogating him about possible links to foreign states in September 2000. | Pukach testified that he had accidentally strangled the journalist with a belt while interrogating him about possible links to foreign states in September 2000. |
| He further admitted severing Gongadze's head from his body, which was found in woodland in the Kiev area later that year. Part of the skull was found in 2009. | He further admitted severing Gongadze's head from his body, which was found in woodland in the Kiev area later that year. Part of the skull was found in 2009. |
| Arrested in 2009, Pukach confessed to the killing at an early stage, saying he had used an axe to behead the journalist. | Arrested in 2009, Pukach confessed to the killing at an early stage, saying he had used an axe to behead the journalist. |
| Three officials from Pukach's department are already serving jail terms for their part in the murder. | Three officials from Pukach's department are already serving jail terms for their part in the murder. |
| Kravchenko died in 2005, in an apparent suicide. | Kravchenko died in 2005, in an apparent suicide. |