Aleksandrov Murder Defendant Found Innocent in Court

Yury Verediuk, accused of murdering Slovyansk-based TOR Television Company CEO Ihor Aleksandrov, has been acquitted for lack of evidence. The court ruled that Mr. Verediuk has the right to file a claim against the Public Prosecution Service for the moral damages he has suffered as a result of nine months of illegal custody. The Mass Media Institute site (www.imi.org.ua) reports that, as soon as Judge Ivan Korchysty read out the acquittal, Verediuk was released from custody right in the courtroom.

The court ruling means that the Aleksandrov case will be reinvestigated, which the aggrieved party has in fact been demanding. It will be recalled that the Aleksandrov murder case raised a public outcry inside the country and out, with the president of Ukraine placing it under his personal control. The Reporters Sans Frontieres international human rights organization offered a lawyer to the Aleksandrov family and made it possible for Ukrainian journalists to conduct their own investigation of this case. These independent investigations showed that the person charged with this crime was not the one who actually killed the journalist. The acquittal confirms the version of journalists. Final conclusions are expected to be drawn by the reinvestigation, reports Volodymyr DENYSENKO, The Day.