| Vasyl Klymentyev | |
| Birth Name: | Vasyl Petrovych Klymentyev |
| Birth Date: | 10 October 1943 |
| Birth Place: | Bereka, Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union[1] |
| Disappeared Place: | Kharkiv, Ukraine |
| Employer: | Noviy Stil |
Vasyl Petrovych Klymentyev (Ukrainian: Василь Петрович Климентьєв, Russian: Василий Петрович Климентьев 10 October 1943 - disappeared 11 August 2010) was a Ukrainian investigative journalist and the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Noviy Stil based in Kharkiv, Ukraine.[2]
On 11 August 2010, he disappeared under mysterious circumstances[3] and is presumed dead.[4]
Klymentyev was known for his investigations of corruption in the Kharkiv area.[5] He disappeared when he set off from his home in the morning of 11 August 2010.[3]
On 15 August 2010, the police opened an investigation on the presumption that it was first degree murder.[6] On 17 August 2010, Klymentyev's mobile phone was found floating in the Pechenezskiy Reservoir.[6] Despite several investigations, his fate is still uncertain.[5] [7]
His disappearance has been compared[5] to that of Georgiy Gongadze, an internet journalist murdered in 2000 for investigating corruption.[4] Media watchdogs have seen it as one of many signs of a deterioration in press freedom since the election of President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2010.[8] [9]