You're reading: Segodnya: Kravchenko’s widow says her husband did not arrange Gongadze murder

The widow of Yuriy Kravchenko, former interior minister from 1995-2001, insists that state prosecutors investigate and prove - if possible - the role of her husband in the disappearance and death of journalist Georgy Gongadze a decade ago.

In an interview appearing Sept. 29 in the daily tabloid newspaper Segodnya (Today), Kravchenko’s wife, Tatyana, said she is certain her husband had nothing to do with Gongadze’s disappearance, as some media and officials have have alleged.

“I am convinced my husband is innocent and I will not let his honest name be dragged through the mud. Moreover, the only evidence of his alleged participation in the crime is testimony by given by former police general Oleksiy Pukach. This is obviously insufficient. I am ready to present evidence to prosecutors prove my husband’s innocence,” Kravchenko is quoted as saying in the article.

Tatyana Kravchenko (L) and Yuriy Kravchenko

Prosecutors earlier this month said that Kravchenko ordered the murder, while the investigation is continuing into who gave the order to Kravchenko. Former President Leonid Kuchma and his then-chief of staff Volodymyr Lytvyn, now speaker of parliament, have been implicated in the crime. Kuchma and Lytyvn deny the accusations.Kravchenko died suspiciously from two gunshot wounds to the head on March 4, 2005, the day he was supposed to give testimony in the Gongadze murder investigation.

The Russian-language Segodnya article can be read here.