Police name main “murder suspect” over Vasyl Klymentyev case

Vasyl Klymentyev

Vasyl Farynnyk, Head of the Interior Ministry Investigation Department has told the website Status Quo that they have a chief suspect for what he called the murder of Kharkiv journalist and editor of the newspaper Novy Styl, Vasyl Klymentyev.  Former officer of the Kharkiv Department for Fighting Organized Crime, Andriy Kozar has been placed on the wanted list. 

Farynnyk said that it was likely that Kozar had not killed Klymentyev alone, and that Kozar was suspected of two other crimes.

On 11 August 2010, the Chief Editor of a publication specializing in criminal subject matter, Vasyl Klymentyev set off on a work-related trip to one of the region’s districts. He was accompanied by former police officer, Andriy Kozar. The journalist did not return. The former police officer also disappeared, though a bit later, after he had been questioned and released by the investigators.

In March 2011 the police declared two suspects in Klymentyev’s disappearance wanted for questioning – Andriy Kozar and a person from Pervomaisk, Dmytro Uvarov.

The “news” that the case had been solved was first fed to the press a few weeks ago.  At present it remains unclear what exactly has been ascertained that had not been over the last two years.