Journalist from Zhytomyr reports about assault supported by his former colleague

Journalist from Zhytomyr Serhiy Forest reported that on August 17 in the center of the city he was attacked by the former security guard of MP Boryslav Rozenblat, Vasyl Shcherbakov. Mr. Forest wrote the relevant letter to the National Association of Journalists of Ukraine, “Detector media” reports, with reference to the press service of the Association. According to the victim, the assault was supported by the deputy of Zhytomyrska oblast council, journalist Olena Halahuza. As Serhiy Forest explained, he went to a cafe to have some coffee, when suddenly Vasyl Shcherbakov jumped up to him, grabbed him by the throat and started calling him "a separatist". In his letter, the victim emphasizes that the assault was guided by Olena Halahuza - he claims that she ordered to commit the aggression, and she was nearby recording the assault with her phone - according to the victim, she was likely expecting Mr.Forest to fight back to accuse him of aggression. Understanding this, he simply pushed the hand away and left. Serhiy Forest, who cooperates with the media outlet “20 khvylyn”, says the assault was probably related to his criticism - in particular, he wrote about the activities of Olena Halahuza. It is notable that both the victim and the suspected aggressor, Mrs.Halahuza, are the members of the National Association of Journalists. According to the description of Mrs. Halahuza that she provided in her Facebook entry, it was "a disagreement" - according to her, Forest simply "escaped" after seing her and her security guard. She also named him "a creature" and accused him of "supporting the Red terror" and "separatism". Before, Olena Halahuza was complaining to the SBU about interview with the Communist Party of Ukraine leader Petro Symonenko by Serhiy Forest, published on December 4, 2015 at the website “Zhurnal Zhytomyra". Halahuza considered that the interviewer committed an offence as the background of the interview setting included Communist symbols.