Woman in Lawlor crash set to sue papers over coverage

The Ukrainian woman who survived the car crash in which Liam Lawlor died has said she is to sue a number of newspapers over their coverage of the accident.

Lawyers for Julia Kushnir plan to issue proceedings against the newspapers, notwithstanding the fact some have apologised for their inaccurate coverage of the accident.

Ms Kushnir yesterday broke her silence on the crash and its aftermath in a statement issued through her Irish lawyers, Brian Lynch and Associates in Galway.

In it, she says she was "shocked and disgusted" by the "reckless, vengeful and ill-corroborated" stories that appeared about her in the press.

"Since our initial publicity my friends, family and I have been plagued by the press disrupting our business, personal and private lives. We have all been subjected to the most rigorous, painful and searching scrutiny here in Prague."

Ms Kushnir asks the media to "leave me alone", a call echoed by her lawyers, who say they will not be making any further statement.

Last month, the Sunday Independent, using information provided by the Observer's correspondent in Moscow, wrongly suggested that Mr Lawlor was in the company of a teenage prostitute when he died. The story was "lifted" by some other Sunday newspapers.

A spokesman for Independent Newspapers said their internal inquiry into the handling of the report by their staff was continuing.

Ms Kushnir says that since she returned to her home in the Czech Republic on the Monday after the accident in Moscow, she has not given any media interviews.

"This did not stop the media from behaving in a most disgraceful manner by printing quotes, supposedly from me, which were made up, false and inaccurate."

She says she is sorry for what the Lawlor family "had to endure from the media at a time of great sadness and personal loss".

"I am happy to be reunited with my family. It is very difficult to burden the weight of being the sole survivor of such a horrific accident that took the lives of two great men. Their families are in my prayers."

The driver, Ruslan Suliamanov, who was also killed in the crash, was the husband of a friend of Ms Kushnir, who says she was to stay at Mr Suliamanov's family home during the business trip.

Ms Kushnir, a 29-year-old Ukrainian law clerk living in Prague for 14 years, confirmed she was in the front seat of the Mercedes that contained Mr Lawlor when it crashed on October 22nd.