 Ukraine's former Interior Minister Yuri Kravchenko has been found dead at his home, ministry officials have said. Mr Kravchenko had been due to testify on Friday in the case of murdered journalist Georgiy Gongadze. Initial reports say he committed suicide.
| Well, that was handy, wasn't it? Have you decided on how he committed suicide, or is that still being staged? |
| Don't be such a cynic. Just another unfortunate case of cardiac arrest. |
Ukraine's prosecutor general said on Wednesday that investigators knew who had killed Gongadze, but have not made the name public. Gongadze, an investigative reporter, was abducted and killed in 2000. The discovery of his headless body in a wood near Kiev triggered a political scandal, especially after the emergence of a covertly-recorded tape that allegedly implicated the former President, Leonid Kuchma. In the tapes, Mr Kuchma was heard to complain about Gongadze's reporting and allegedly ordered Mr Kravchenko to "get rid of" the journalist.
| "Will no one rid me of the troublesome reporter?" |
Mr Kuchma has repeatedly denied the allegations, and says the tapes have been edited to distort his words.
| "Youse guys got nuttin' on me, the witnesses are all dead!" |
But correspondents say it is difficult to see how the case will not now reach Mr Kuchma. According to Ukrainian and utterly unlike French law, the former president has no immunity against criminal prosecution.
| "Come out witcher hands up, Mr. President!" |
Mr Kravchenko had been summoned to give evidence to prosecutors at 1000 local time, but was found dead at his country house outside Kiev. Investigators are on their way to the scene. The former minister had been under surveillance since December, the Associated Press news agency reported.
| I'll bet they didn't see anyone enter or leave the house. |
| They had just gone out for donuts ... |
| "Inspector! All the doors and windows were locked, but he committed 'suicide' by shooting himself in the back!" |
Two of Gongadze's alleged killers are interior ministry policemen who have been detained. A proper investigation into this crime was among the main demands of the pro-Western opposition, which staged the "orange revolution" that brought President Viktor Yushchenko to power following the disputed elections in November. Mr Yushchenko said it was a matter of honour to solve the crime. He has now ordered Prosecutor-General Svyatoslav Piskun and Interior Minister Yuri Lutsenko to take personal charge of the investigation of Mr Kravchenko's death, according to media reports.
| "Round up the usual suspects!" |
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