A recent article in 'Bez Tsenzury' entitled: 'The last hero: The Donetsk police buried the slogan "Prison for the bandits!" together with Colonel Yerokhin', describes the funeral on 23th August of this murdered senior officer from the Main Directorate of the Adminstration for Fighting Organized Crime. [UBOZ]
The prime suspect for ordering Yerokin's kidnapping and killing is 'a serious businessman from the Donetsk oblast', who is also a parliamentary deputy. Yerokhin had been investigating money laundering operations in the Donbas, and had received death threats. Several suspects who allegedly physically committed the crime, are already in custody. I have blogged recently about this important case in several postings.
Hundred of Yerokhin's colleagues attended his funeral together with about 3,000 residents of his home town, Makiyivka, where he had also been a town councillor for Nataliya Vitrenko's radical Progressive Socialist party. Minister of Internal Affairs Yuriy Lutsenko, one of the Orange Revolution's field-commanders, also attended the funeral. Those present expected Lutsenko to name the prime suspect, but they were dissappointed.
At the wake, Yerokhin's fellow policemen bitterly expressed the view that they were "all hostages in a bigger political game in which the slogan 'Bandits to jail!' sounded like scorn directed at those of their number who believed in the ability of the new [orange] authorities to ensure that the law remains supreme."
Yerokhin's colleagues have no confidence either that the Prosecutor General, Oleksandr Medvedko, who has taken over investigations from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, will solve the case. Medvedko, a Yushchenko appointee, has dubious track record as a former Donetsk prosecutor, which only confirms their fears.
Donetsk businessman and author of 'The Donetsk Mafia', Boris Penchuk, thinks that Yerokhin was kidnapped 'in order to force him to give information which would compromise Lutsenko.'
'It's quite possible that that he was a Trojan horse within Lutsenko's inner circle,' he added.
When the Verkhovna Rada reconvenes next Tuesday one of its new deputies may have ordered this kidnapping and assassination of a senior anti-corruption police officer.
Corruption is problem #1 forUkraine's authorities to tackle. Why should the police continue investigating cases such as those being persued by Yerokhin without the support of higher authority?
PoR should 'give up' this deputy, but they won't because many of their number have committed serious crimes in the past too, and are part of the problem. They know that if they 'stick together' they will be all right.
... Boris Penchuk, thinks that Yerokhin was kidnapped 'in order to force him to give information which would compromise Lutsenko.' ---- I don't buy this theory at all - does not make sense to me because, honestly, there is nothing on Lutsenko.
ReplyDeleteI think they wanted to know how MUCH the authorities knew and to send a message (come after us and we will come after you.) This case should be a test case for the new PM admin. and sites like UA Pravda should pursue it doggedly as well as other media sites/sources BUT will not. As well as reward offered by UA govt and his pic on the ua mil site - receive Hero of UA award, etc. I'm talking BLITZ! AND CONSTANT ques. at pr conferences, etc.
THAT is the only way that PoR will be forced to give up someone. They need to know that kidnappng/execution has zero tolerance.
but the blitz won't happen and more and more articles will appear criticizing the Pres. (retch)(ridiculous)
this is the single opportunity (chance and time combine together) to break the back of the mafia or at the very least, force it to retreat for awhile - argh - aggravating! most upsetting!!!
Levko,
ReplyDeleteThanks for reporting on this story and sites like bezcenzury.com are great but their articles and info. have to be avail. in eng. lang. If they can't afford translation software then why not just basic translation like google or babelfish? do RU to ENG if necessary - what is up with these web site people? Argh!
This is what I am talking about - go to the UA pravda site - article about daughters of Yushchnko and Kinakh go to school. (retch)This is not news - this is gossip! Prior to parliamentary elections they were critical of OU/Pres./u name it but not going after PoR and it continues. Sad.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments. I agree this case should be at test of the new gov's good faith. I also agree that Ukr media have eased off in their scrutiny of gov, maybe this is just because it's the quiet holiday season, or maybe just a honeymoon period. Most likely there are commercial or self-preservation reasons for this.
ReplyDeleteLutsenko is asked about the Yerokhin case in depth in a piece in the current Urk/Russian Dzerkalo Tyzhnya. It's a murky business, but whatever Yekokin was up to [maybe trying to 'shake-down' important people], he didn't deserve to end the way he did. There are enough clues in the DzT piece to reveal the 'zakazchyk'
It has to be remembered that the current dubious prosecutor general was a Yush appointee - probably chosen on account of his 'flexible' approach to his duties..
... prosecutor general ...
ReplyDeleteThere you have it in a nutshell. What profits catching a criminal, making a case to have it go poof in a puff of wind? all it does is embolden the criminal element to even deeper and audacious dark deeds. Rule of law, corrupt judges, kangaroo courts, screwy legal code, ... have not heard much of their being revamped by the Pres. or OU or even T. As long as the legal system is riddled and sick with disease, the country and people will not prosper, though individual predators will.