Vasyl Klymentyev


Vasyl Petrovych Klymentyev was a Ukrainian investigative journalist and the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Noviy Stil based in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
On 11 August 2010, he disappeared under mysterious circumstances and is presumed dead.

Disappearance

Klymentyev was known for his investigations of corruption in the Kharkiv area. He disappeared when he set off from his home in the morning of 11 August 2010.
On 15 August 2010, the police opened an investigation on the presumption that it was first degree murder. On 17 August 2010, Klymentyev's mobile phone was found floating in the Pechenihy Reservoir. Despite several investigations, his fate is still uncertain.

Aftermath

His disappearance has been compared to that of Georgiy Gongadze, an internet journalist murdered in 2000 for investigating corruption. Media watchdogs have seen it as one of many signs of a deterioration in press freedom since the election of President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2010.