Ukraine probe journalist's murder

KIEV, Ukraine -- A murder investigation has been launched into the death of Ukrainian journalist Heorhiy Gongadze.

The journalist, whose body was found in November two months after he disappeared, had been critical of President Leonid Kuchma and several top businessmen from the president's entourage.

Gongadze's disappearance sparked Ukraine's biggest political scandal in a decade with thousands of people taking to the streets calling for Kuchma to quit over allegations of involvement in the case.

The murder investigation launched on Tuesday came one day after an announcement by the prosecutor-general officially identifying the body.

Kuchma has repeatedly denied any involvement in the killing, but Ukraine has been criticised by the European Union and the U.S. over its handling of the investigation into the disappearance.

Although, DNA testing showed earlier that it was 99.6 percent likely that the body was that of Gongadze, a murder investigation could not be launched until the body was positively identified.

Gongadze mother, Lesya, said on Tuesday that she wanted foreign experts to re-examine the corpse in the search for clues about his killing.

Relatives and friends have also accused prosecutors of attempting a cover-up on orders from Kuchma.

The president first came under pressure in November when a former Kuchma bodyguard unveiled audio recordings of what he said were conversations between the president and his top aides, in which Kuchma is said to urge action against Gongadze

Prosecutors initially dismissed the tapes as fakes but Kuchma later acknowledged it was his voice but said the tapes, secretly recorded in his office, had been tampered with.

Gongadze's 57-year-old mother said she did not want to become a political figure, but was determined to find out the truth, adding that she had been under pressure from prosecutors to bury the body.

"They gave us a death certificate. But the reason for his death, the date of his death, where his head is -- nobody can tell me this," she said.

"They want me to bury him so the case can be forgotten. I am a mother and I want to decide for myself what to do with this body, how to bury it and when to bury it. I need to know what happened, who killed him and why -- that is my right."

Reuters contributed to this report.

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