Police Officer Allegedly Involved in Arson Attack on Journalist

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine has released a statement implicating a local Lviv police officer in an arson attack on Halyna Tereshchuk, a journalist working for U.S.-funded news service Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Investigators say that the officer served as a middle-man between the mastermind of the attack – a Lviv resident with a known criminal record – and the man hired to carry out the crime. The officer has been declared wanted by the authorities, though the Security Service of Ukraine has stated that he has fled the country to avoid prosecution.

The man who carried out the arson has been placed under house arrest, and is identified as a 19 year old student of the Lviv Polytechnic University. He faces anywhere from 3 to 10 years imprisonment on charges of property damage by arson.

The mastermind has been served with a notice of suspicion, and faces up to 15 years imprisonment for the attack. Prosecutors are now deciding on pre-trial detention conditions for the mastermind and the police officer. None of the suspects have so far been identified by name, and investigators have not yet stated a motive for the crime.

READ MORE: Car Belonging to RFE/RL Journalist Torched in Lviv