Alan Dershowitz to represent ex-Ukrainian president over journalist’s murder

Famed attorney and Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz has been hired by former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, who has been charged in connection with the 2000 murder of an investigative journalist: “I look forward to contributing my experience as a defence lawyer and specialist on forensic evidence to this case,” said Mr Dershowitz in a ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
556162_dershowitz2.jpg
556162_dershowitz2.jpg

Famed attorney and Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz has been hired by former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, who has been charged in connection with the 2000 murder of an investigative journalist:

Famed attorney and Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz has been hired by former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, who has been charged in connection with the 2000 murder of an investigative journalist:

“I look forward to contributing my experience as a defence lawyer and specialist on forensic evidence to this case,” said Mr Dershowitz in a statement circulated by a spokesman for Mr Kuchma.

“I am especially committed to the search for truth in this case.”

The choice of Dershowitz, known for his first-amendment work in the United States, is a significant one for Kuchma, who stands accused of silencing one of his most prominent critics. A recording of the president ordering subordinates to "deal" with Gongadze was a major precipitating factor in the 2004 Orange Revolution. Three former interior ministry employees were found guilty of Gongadze’s murder in 2008. 

In February, Dershowtiz spoke with FP‘s Charles Homans about his defense of another controversial international figure, Julian Assange, calling Wikileaks "the Pentagon Papers case for the 21st Century."

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

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