Thursday 28th of March 2024, 22:26 CET
Ukraine News Agency Says Director Has Disappeared
October 28, 2002
Reuters

Posted by HW on March 28, 2024

A Ukrainian news agency said on Monday its director had gone missing eight days ago and fears the disappearance could be linked to its independent reporting.

Eighteen Ukrainian journalists have been killed since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and reporters frequently complain of harassment and attacks by unknown assailants.

Ukrainsky Novyny, an agency specializing in economic news, said its founder and director, Mykhailo Kolomiets, had not been seen by family, friends or colleagues since last Monday.

"Reporters of the agency are very concerned over the fate of Kolomiets. They fear the incident could be the result of the agency's policy of providing independent information," Ukrainsky Novyny said in a statement.

Government officials were not immediately available for comment.

Western diplomats and the opposition often voice concern about freedom of expression in Ukraine where the media is largely controlled by the government or powerful businessmen close to President Leonid Kuchma.

The opposition has linked Kuchma to the unsolved murder of Georgiy Gongadze, a reporter critical of the government. Gongadze's headless corpse was found in November 2000. Kuchma denies the charges.

The opposition organized some of the country's largest post-Soviet protests in September to mark the second anniversary of Gongadze's disappearance.

Detectives from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation are expected in Kiev later this month to help with the probe.
 
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