Attack on Yuri Iliuchenko (Kirovograd)

 25 June 2003. In early hours of the morning of 25 June Yuri Iliuchenko, a sports reporter of the weekly “Ukraina-Tsentr”, was beaten and robbed near his house in Kirovograd.

Efim Marmer, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, informed that the journalist was returning from the business trip, from Kyiv, where he went together with the soccer team “Zirka” (Kirovograd). The team bus took the journalist almost to the house, but in the doorway he was attacked by strangers, who hit him on the head and knocked him down. The attackers took his handbag with dictaphone, purse and documents. Doctors diagnosed the cerebral brain concussion of medium degree, fracture of leg, numerous injuries, haematomas on face and chest. A criminal case was started after the fact of the attack, the investigation is controlled by major-general Stanislav Nikitenko, the head of the militia directorate of the Kirovograd oblast. Editor of “Ukraina-Tsentr” Efim Marmer believes that the incident was merely criminal.

The Institute of mass information, “Barometr svobody slova”, June 2003