The former interior minister was found dead in his home Friday, an apparent suicide
Published:
5 March 2005 y., Saturday
The former interior minister was found dead in his home Friday, an apparent suicide, just before he was to be questioned about the 2000 slaying of an investigative journalist, dealing a blow to an inquiry that could implicate the former president.
Former Interior Minister Yuriy Kravchenko suffered two gunshot wounds to the head, a TV station reported he left a note blaming his suicide on former President Leonid Kuchma "and his entourage," and the journalist's widow suggested it was all part of a cover-up to protect "the old regime."
President Viktor Yushchenko, who has made solving the murder of journalist Heoriy Gongadze a moral obligation for his new administration, ordered the current interior minister and prosecutor general to take over the investigation.
Kravchenko, 53, had been implicated in organizing the killing of Gongadze, who wrote about top-level corruption under Kuchma.
The killing of Gongadze - who was found decapitated in a forest outside the capital in 2000 - sparked months of protests against Kuchma. The opposition alleged Kuchma ordered the killing.
Kuchma again denied any involvement Friday.
"Before God, before people, before my conscience, I'm clean," Kuchma told reporters at a spa resort in the Czech Republic. He said he would return home Saturday and was prepared to talk to prosecutors, Czech and Ukrainian TV reported.
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Inna Kisel said Kravchenko's death "appears to be a suicide." He died at his country residence outside Kiev.
Šaltinis:
thestate.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
Every year 10 000 people lose their lives due to landmines.
more »
Frustrated by the technical explanation of the nuclear crisis in Japan, artist Hachiya Kazuhiko creates cartoon character "Nuclear Boy" for clarification.
more »
A Polish collector discovers a photo believed to be of Frederic Chopin taken just after his death in 1849.
more »
EGNOS-for-aviation, a satellite navigation service launched on 2 March 2011, will increase flight safety, reduce delays and open up new destinations.
more »
Worker finds two time capsules amid earthquake rubble in Christchurch as search and rescue teams continue to comb through debris from the New Zealand earthquake.
more »
A group of elderly men in Brazil have taken up running as they race disease and old age.
more »
"Taxi Yoga," a new exercise class for taxi drivers, helps stretch away the stress of driving a cab in New York City.
more »
Twenty-five rescued circus lions leave Bolivia for a new life at a U.S. animal sanctuary.
more »
Colombian flower growers prepare rose exports for Valentine's Day and hope to reap profits despite a strengthening peso.
more »
Mexican animal rights activists coat their bodies in fake blood to protest bullfighting.
more »