Ukrainian journalist Vasyl Klymentyev went missing August 11. Almost a month later, Radio Free Europe is reporting that Ukrainian Interior Minister Anatoliy Mohylyov thinks the journalist "is probably dead."
Mohylyov also has said that "security forces are suspected of involvement in his disappearance."
Klymentyev, 66, is the top editor of New Style in Kharkiv in the eastern Ukraine. He was working on an article about mansions owned by Tax Chief Stanislav Denisyuk and three other local officials, one of whom was a former member of the Ukrainian secret service.
The article was scheduled to be printed but then Klymentyev disappeared.
I'm not sure I would have known about Klymentyev last year. I only became interested in his disappearance after I agreed to be part of a journalism exchange sponsored by IREX. The international non-profit fosters independent media in developing countries. The Ukraine recently celebrated its 19th year of independence since the fall of the Soviet Union, but its newly elected president has strong ties to Moscow that may threaten the country's independent mindset.
These days, I have Google alerts for all topics Ukrainian. I check them at least once a day to see if there are any stories where I can learn more about the country and its people. Today, a day after our return home from a visit to the Sevastopol Gazette newsroom, I found this story.
It made me think of the work that's being done by the small newsroom of dedicated journalists in that seaside community in the Crimea. And it reminded me once more of why Daily Press Marketing Director David Messick and I went so far away to talk about something so dear.
The bottom line is simple: As American journalists, we enjoy the kind of press freedom that some journalists may never have. Talking about journalism in a country where journalists are at risk is the very least we can do for Vasyl Klymentyev and others like him.
BY THE NUMBERS: FROM THE COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS
- 26 journalists killed in 2010
- 827 journalists killed since 1992
- 454 journalists in exile worldwide
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