Interior minister said police detained 'suspects' over 2016 killing of Sheremet - RFE/RL

Ukrainian police have detained several suspects in connection with the 2016 killing of investigative journalist Pavel Sheremet, as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.

"This is the result of very complex and persistent work of real professionals and an important step toward fully solving the case!" Interior Minister Arsen Avakov wrote on Facebook on December 12.

Avakov did not give any further details other than saying "suspects" had been detained.

Sheremet, a Belarusian-born Russian citizen who had made the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv his permanent home, was leaving his apartment to head to the studio where he hosted a morning radio program when an improvised explosive device planted under the vehicle he was in exploded on July 20, 2016.

The 44-year-old, who was honored by the Committee to Protect Journalists with the International Press Freedom Award in 1998, was well known as a hard-hitting reporter and commentator who had worked at prominent media outlets in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine during his decades-long career.

Often critical of political leaders, he had received threats and been harassed on several occasions. His Belarusian cameraman, Dzmitry Zavadski, was abducted and killed in 2000 after the two returned from a reporting trip in Russia's Chechnya region.

Sheremet was stripped of his Belarusian citizenship in 2010 while he was living in Russia, where he had moved in 1997 to avoid persecution following his reports criticizing Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's government.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Photo credit: Reuters