Vasily Sergienko, Ukraine

The body of journalist Vasily Sergienko was found on April 5, 2014 in a forest approximately 15 kilometres from his home in Korsun-Shevchenkivskiy in central Ukraine, The Guardian reported. A member of the right-wing Svoboda party who participated in the Automaidan, a movement of car drivers who opposed Yanukovych, Sergienko worked for the local Nadrossia newspaper. Sources said authorities were examining a potential connection with articles Sergienko wrote criticising Sergey Tulub, a former local governor in Cherkasy and a member of Yanukovych’s Party of Regions. Observers said three men forced Sergienko into a white Lada outside of his home at approximately 8:30 p.m. on April 4, 2014. The journalist was found buried in a shallow grave the following day. Reports indicated that his body bore signs of brutal torture and that his head had been severed.

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