Analyst: “Political pressure should prompt the Poroshenko administration to make the investigation and prosecution of her murderer a top priority. Otherwise, he could suffer in the elections, particularly among the female electorate.”
KYIV, Jan 4, 2018 - The murder of lawyer Iryna Nozdrovska [pictured], whose body was found on Jan. 1 in the outskirts of Kyiv, is “a challenge for the state and a test for society,” said on Jan. 2 Pavlo Klimkin, Ukraine’s foreign minister. This test involves protecting female activists, justice and the ability to ensure it, he said. The same day, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine expressed its shock and sadness, and extended its condolences to Nozdrovska’s family, regarding her murder and called for bringing the perpetrators to justice. Iryna Nozdrovska had been working to bring to justice the man responsible for the death of her sister, who was hit by a car and killed in September 2015. The suspect, who is a nephew of the former head of the district court, was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment in May 2017, but with the possibility of amnesty. Yet the prison sentence was upheld in a Dec. 27 appellate ruling. During that hearing, the killer's relatives openly threatened to kill Nozdrovska, reported MP Mustafa Nayyem. She disappeared two days later and her body was found on Jan. 1. As of this morning, police released several versions of her murder but had yet to name an official suspect. Concorde analyst Zenon Zawada added: “Like any shocking event, Nozdrovska’s murder will become a political subject, especially ahead of the 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections. Protest leader Mikheil Saakashvili has already called for protests outside the Kyiv police headquarters, while presidential favorite Yulia Tymoshenko is certain to take up Nozdrovska’s cause as a primary campaign theme. This political pressure should prompt the Poroshenko administration to make the investigation and prosecution of her murderer a top priority. Otherwise, he could suffer in the elections, particularly among the female electorate. ### For more information, link here: www.concorde.ua
|
