The chief suspect in the 2000 murder of Ukrainian journalist Georgiy Gongadze has reportedly testified that then-President Leonid Kuchma ordered the killing.

Former senior police official Olexiy Pukach is being tried behind closed doors for the murder.

A lawyer for Gongadze's widow said Tuesday that Pukach testified Mr. Kuchma and other officials ordered Gongadze's murder. The journalist had been investigating alleged corruption in the Kuchma government when his headless body was found in a forest outside Kyiv.

Mr. Kuchma was charged earlier this year with abuse of power in connection with the killing. An audio tape had surfaced on which a voice that sounds like Mr. Kuchma's talks about getting rid of Gongadze.

The former president has denied any involvement in the murder.