Five men get prison sentences for fatal beating of regional TV chief in 2001
Organisation:
The Lugansk appeal court on 7 June sentenced five people for their roles in the beating that caused the death on 7 July 2001 of Igor Alexandrov, the director-general of the regional television station TOR.
Brothers Aleksandr and Dmitri Rybak were given prison sentences of 15 and 11 years respectively as the instigators of the fatal attack. Aleksandr Onishko et Ruslan Turussov, who pleaded guilty to being the perpetrators, were sentenced to 12 and six years respectively, while their accomplice, Serguei Koritski, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
The court also ordered payment of 150,000 grivnas (23,400 euros) in compensation to Alexandrov's widow and daughter, and 100,000 grivnas (15,600 euros) to his son, Aleksei.
------
11 may 2006
Call for solid evidence to be produced against alleged killers of Alexandrov
Reporters Without Borders described the trial of the two alleged killers of journalist Igor Alexandrov as a new test for the Ukrainian government, as it opened on 10 May in Lugansk, in the east of the country. The press freedom organisation said it hoped that the judicial authorities would be able to fully elucidate the July 2001 murder of the director-general of TOR television in Slaviansk, in the Donetsk region, one of the most momentous since that of the murder of Georgiy Gongadze. “The judicial authorities must definitely decide whether the alleged killers are guilty on the basis of solid proof,” it said. “We have already condemned the lack of independence of the justice system at the time of the killing, under the presidency of Leonid Kuchma. We do not want the Alexandrov case to go the same way today. We expect the new prosecutor in charge of the case to present an unambiguous version of the facts against the accused and the motives for the murder,” the organisation added. Members of the “17th zone” criminal gang were charged in the autumn of 2003. The prosecutor Valientine Briantsev, called for a life sentence against Aleksander Rybak and a 15-year prison sentence for his brother, Dmitri Rybak, both designated as instigators of the murder. The two continue to deny their guilt since their arrest in September 2003. The perpetrators, Aleksandr Onichko and Rouslan Touroussov, assisted by an accomplice, Sergei Koritski, have admitted beating the journalist to death. The evidence of civil parties to the trial, lawyers and the accused are expected to last until at least the end of the month. ------ 7 July 2004 Alexandrov case: Reporters Without Borders and the Institute of Mass Information seek guarantees ahead of the trial Reporters Without Borders and the Institute of Mass Information (IMI) voiced doubts about the independence of the judiciary and sought assurances of a fair trial for those accused of murdering journalist Igor Alexandrov, beaten to death three years ago in July 2001. The prosecutor's office announced in autumn 2003 that it had identified the journalist's killers. "Igor Alexandrov was killed because he was investigating corruption and organised crime in the Donetsk region," said Reporters Without Borders and the IMI in a letter to President Leonid Kuchma and President of the Supreme Court, Vasyl Maliarenko. "The fact that the Prime Minister, Viktor Yanukovich and the prosecutor-general, Gennadiy Vassiliev, have both held high office in the city, added to serious failings in the investigation and previous trial, does nothing to dispel our fears about the lack of independence of the judiciary in this case". "We demand a fair trial that produces irrefutable evidence of the guilt of the journalist's suspected killers and those who ordered his murder. We will not accept furt her instances of "circumstantial guilt". Moreover those who tried to obstruct justice to protect the real perpetrators of the murder should be found and punished", the two press freedom organisations said. The prosecutor-general's office announced on 6 July 2004 that the prosecutor in charge of the investigation had been accused of "negligence" in the Alexandrov case, but gave no further details. Former prosecutor-general, Sviatoslav Piskun, said on 21 September 2003 that Alexandrov's killers had been arrested. According to Volodymyr Tymoshenko, head of the security services anti-corruption and crime department, the journalist had been killed because of his investigations into corruption and organised crime in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. Those suspected of ordering the killing are Oleksandr Rybak, a local businessman, and his younger brother, Dmytro Rybak, both members of the 17th zone gang. The suspected hitmen, Aleksander Onyshko and Ruslan Tursunov, were supposedly paid $4,000 for killing the journalist. Alexandrov's colleagues have repeatedly questioned their guilt. The trial date has not yet been fixed. In July 2001, a homeless man, Yuri Verediuk, was arrested and accused of the murder before being acquitted in May 2002. Defence lawyer Bogdan Ferents, hired by Reporters Without Borders and the IMI, managed to show that there was insufficient evidence against him. The charges against the accused man were obviously trumped up and his contradictory "confessions" obtained under duress. Verediuk died of a heart attack a month after his acquittal. Ukraine's Supreme Court ordered the reopening of the investigation on 11 July 2002, and the parliamentary committee investigating the case had its mandate renewed. Alexandrov, who was general manger of the Slaviansk TV station TOR was attacked and beaten about the head with a baseball bat on 3 July 2001. He was taken to hospital with serious head injuries and died on the morning of 7 July. In 1998, he had been sentenced to two years in prison and banned from working as a journalist for five years after being sued by member of parliament Olexandr Leshchynsky, whom he had called "the vodka king of the Donbass" industrial area of eastern Ukraine. In 2000, the case was dropped after Leshchinsky withdrew his complaint, but Alexandrov tried to get the legal authorities to annul the conviction, admit the prosecution's error and award him damages.
Reporters Without Borders described the trial of the two alleged killers of journalist Igor Alexandrov as a new test for the Ukrainian government, as it opened on 10 May in Lugansk, in the east of the country. The press freedom organisation said it hoped that the judicial authorities would be able to fully elucidate the July 2001 murder of the director-general of TOR television in Slaviansk, in the Donetsk region, one of the most momentous since that of the murder of Georgiy Gongadze. “The judicial authorities must definitely decide whether the alleged killers are guilty on the basis of solid proof,” it said. “We have already condemned the lack of independence of the justice system at the time of the killing, under the presidency of Leonid Kuchma. We do not want the Alexandrov case to go the same way today. We expect the new prosecutor in charge of the case to present an unambiguous version of the facts against the accused and the motives for the murder,” the organisation added. Members of the “17th zone” criminal gang were charged in the autumn of 2003. The prosecutor Valientine Briantsev, called for a life sentence against Aleksander Rybak and a 15-year prison sentence for his brother, Dmitri Rybak, both designated as instigators of the murder. The two continue to deny their guilt since their arrest in September 2003. The perpetrators, Aleksandr Onichko and Rouslan Touroussov, assisted by an accomplice, Sergei Koritski, have admitted beating the journalist to death. The evidence of civil parties to the trial, lawyers and the accused are expected to last until at least the end of the month. ------ 7 July 2004 Alexandrov case: Reporters Without Borders and the Institute of Mass Information seek guarantees ahead of the trial Reporters Without Borders and the Institute of Mass Information (IMI) voiced doubts about the independence of the judiciary and sought assurances of a fair trial for those accused of murdering journalist Igor Alexandrov, beaten to death three years ago in July 2001. The prosecutor's office announced in autumn 2003 that it had identified the journalist's killers. "Igor Alexandrov was killed because he was investigating corruption and organised crime in the Donetsk region," said Reporters Without Borders and the IMI in a letter to President Leonid Kuchma and President of the Supreme Court, Vasyl Maliarenko. "The fact that the Prime Minister, Viktor Yanukovich and the prosecutor-general, Gennadiy Vassiliev, have both held high office in the city, added to serious failings in the investigation and previous trial, does nothing to dispel our fears about the lack of independence of the judiciary in this case". "We demand a fair trial that produces irrefutable evidence of the guilt of the journalist's suspected killers and those who ordered his murder. We will not accept furt her instances of "circumstantial guilt". Moreover those who tried to obstruct justice to protect the real perpetrators of the murder should be found and punished", the two press freedom organisations said. The prosecutor-general's office announced on 6 July 2004 that the prosecutor in charge of the investigation had been accused of "negligence" in the Alexandrov case, but gave no further details. Former prosecutor-general, Sviatoslav Piskun, said on 21 September 2003 that Alexandrov's killers had been arrested. According to Volodymyr Tymoshenko, head of the security services anti-corruption and crime department, the journalist had been killed because of his investigations into corruption and organised crime in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. Those suspected of ordering the killing are Oleksandr Rybak, a local businessman, and his younger brother, Dmytro Rybak, both members of the 17th zone gang. The suspected hitmen, Aleksander Onyshko and Ruslan Tursunov, were supposedly paid $4,000 for killing the journalist. Alexandrov's colleagues have repeatedly questioned their guilt. The trial date has not yet been fixed. In July 2001, a homeless man, Yuri Verediuk, was arrested and accused of the murder before being acquitted in May 2002. Defence lawyer Bogdan Ferents, hired by Reporters Without Borders and the IMI, managed to show that there was insufficient evidence against him. The charges against the accused man were obviously trumped up and his contradictory "confessions" obtained under duress. Verediuk died of a heart attack a month after his acquittal. Ukraine's Supreme Court ordered the reopening of the investigation on 11 July 2002, and the parliamentary committee investigating the case had its mandate renewed. Alexandrov, who was general manger of the Slaviansk TV station TOR was attacked and beaten about the head with a baseball bat on 3 July 2001. He was taken to hospital with serious head injuries and died on the morning of 7 July. In 1998, he had been sentenced to two years in prison and banned from working as a journalist for five years after being sued by member of parliament Olexandr Leshchynsky, whom he had called "the vodka king of the Donbass" industrial area of eastern Ukraine. In 2000, the case was dropped after Leshchinsky withdrew his complaint, but Alexandrov tried to get the legal authorities to annul the conviction, admit the prosecution's error and award him damages.
Published on
Updated on
20.01.2016
Ukraine
