March 9 2004, 10:51 APK-Inform

Deputies ask president "to provide lawfulness and justice" in Kozachenko case

Deputies from the parliamentary faction of the Agrarian Party of Ukraine have directed a letter to the president of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma and the prosecutor general Henady Vasylyev with the appeal to provide justice and lawfulness in the criminal case, started against ex-deputy prime minister for agriculture Leonid Kozachenko, press service of Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation has informed (Kozachenko holds presidency of this Confederation).

To the opinion of deputies, the course of investigation requires interference, as the case is now stays in the Prosecutor's Office without any changes.

The letter states that the Provisional Investigational Commission of Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine, which was created for inspecting the current situation in the grain and bread market, has not found any privity of Kozachenko to the causes of the crisis in the grain market. Nevertheless, he remains to be accused of the current problems on this market.

"On January 27, 2004 Pechersk District Court of Kiev completed investigation of written materials to the case. After the detailed examination of evidences and interrogation of witnesses the court has established absence of the fact of crime, stated in the accusation documents. However, after this the court made the decision to direct the case back to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine for additional investigation, because of incompleteness of evidences", the letter reads.