Pukach says he didn't intend to kill Gongadze, was strangling him to extort information

12:41, 29.01.2013 1 min read

The former chief of the external surveillance department of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, Oleksiy Pukach, who is charged with the murder of Ukrainian journalist Georgy Gongadze, has said that he did not intend to take Gongadze's life, but was trying to extort the information from him about the journalist's alleged espionage activities.

According to the verdict, which is read out in Pechersky District Court in Kyiv on Tuesday, Pukach in his testimony said he did not intend to kill Gongadze, only to use force in order to obtain information about Gongadze's involvement in espionage.

According to Pukach, Gongadze's death was an accident. He said he was strangling the journalist with a belt to get information, but did not intend to kill him.

In Pukach's words, Gongadze did not admit that he was a spy, but admitted that he was collecting information for foreign embassies in order to change the government in Ukraine.

Gongadze allegedly was promised $400,000 for the information by the U.S. Embassy.