Two Ukrainian Journalists Kidnapped & Missing in Crimea-Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is very concerned about the fate of two Ukrainian journalists who were kidnapped yesterday at the Crimean border and have been missing ever since.
SNIP
One of the missing journalists is Olena Maksymenko of Ukrainsky Tizhden, who disappeared with Kateryna Butko and Aleksandra Ryazantseva, two activists in the Auto-Maidan movement, which supports the new government in Kiev. After setting off in a car from Kherson, in southern Ukraine, the three young women were stopped a checkpoint in Perekop at around 4 p.m. yesterday.
After spotting a pro-Maidan tattoo on the hand of one of the women, the soldiers searched the car and found Ukrainian national symbols, letters and cameras, which they threw on the road.
A Glavkom journalist who was at the checkpoint, Oleksiy Byk, said Maksymenko was wearing a press badge identifying her as a journalist. The last time he saw the three women, they were kneeling near a military tent with the hands bound, and then they were taken off to an unknown destination.
Byk was himself arrested shortly afterwards at the same checkpoint along with his driver, Yevhen Rakhno, and freelance photographer Oles
More at link: http://en.rsf.org/ukraine-two-ukrainian-journalists-missing-10-03-2014,45977.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
The journalist who was at the checkpoint, and who was quoted in the story is:
"A Glavkom journalist who was at the checkpoint, Oleksiy Byk, said Maksymenko was wearing a press badge identifying her as a journalist. The last time he saw the three women, they were kneeling near a military tent with the hands bound, and then they were taken off to an unknown destination."
"Byk was himself arrested shortly afterwards at the same checkpoint along with his driver, Yevhen Rakhno, and freelance photographer Oles Kromplyas."
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Chances are if they'll abduct one journalist they'll abduct several, so there could have been a second incident. I can't believe how ballsy this guy is. He reports on journalists being abducted and then goes and gets in the Serb guys face, "Are you sure you're not in that group that even the Serbian government doesn't recognize?"
There was a female journalist who was abducted and beaten early on. She is expected to have a job in the new government.
Here is a list of RWB injured and killed reporters and media workers.
http://imi.org.ua/news/42836-list-of-journalists-injured-during-confrontations-in-january-in-kyiv-updated.html
