Rabynovych Contacts SBU Leadership

Vadym Rabynovych, chairman of the All-Ukrainian Jewish Congress and United Jewish Community of Ukraine, also known as a successful businessman, landed at Boryspil Airport on September 25 on an Israeli charter flight. UNIAN, referring to a source among Mr. Rabynovych's close associates, reports that he met with SBU [Ukrainian secret police] leadership for three hours. What was discussed is not known.

Then Mr. Rabynovych attended a scholarly conference dealing with problems of ethnic minorities with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine taking part. President Kuchma sent greetings to participants. Other sources indicate that Mr. Rabynovych plans to attend hearings in his case vs. the Socialist Party's newspaper Tovarysh . The first hearing was scheduled for September 29 in Kyiv's Pechersk District Court but was postponed awaiting the recovery of the newspaper's editor-in-chief, Anatoly Chernykov.

Reliable sources further report that Mr. Rabynovych intends to remain in Ukraine and that he has started working in his Kyiv office. He was not present at the court hearing on Wednesday, reports Interfax Ukraine, because of a scheduling conflict in conjunction with the preparation of observances at Babyn Yar.

Earlier, SBU barred Mr. Rabynovych entry to Ukraine for five years for reasons of suspected activities damaging Ukraine's national interests.