Former MMA fighter Andry Inosov is accused of the torture and murder of journalist Vasyl Serhienko.
The Ukrainian government has asked the United States to extradite former MMA fighter Andry Inosov accused in the torture and murder of journalist Vasyl Serhienko.
According to ukranews.com, which cited official court documents in its report, Inosov was sentenced in absentia in December 2018 for his participation in a criminal organization responsible for several grave crimes and murders. One of the group’s alleged crimes was the kidnapping of Vasyl Sergienko, a public figure known for his journalism and activism.
Sergienko was taken from his home in the Cherkasy region of Ukraine on April 4, 2014 but his body was discovered the following day buried in a nearby forest. Reports suggest his body bore signs of gruesome torture.
”We found a place that looked like a freshly dug pit. We waited for prosecutors to arrive then begin digging. The spot was covered with rubbish. Under it was a body. The man had been handcuffed. The guys recognized this was the missing Vasily Sergiyenko,” Oleg Sobchenko, a friend of Sergienko, told Ukrainian media (h/t The Guardian).
While the murder was first reported as a crime committed by an unknown group of thugs, an official police investigation eventually uncovered the suspected assailants after discovering a piece of supermarket receipt in Kyiv.
On August 15, 2015, Inosov was deemed the potential leader of the criminal organization and was placed on the Ukrainian wanted list after fleeing from the preliminary investigation. By 2016, he was added to the international wanted list and was sought out by Interpol. Police investigators discovered that Inosov was hiding in the United States, leading to his arrest by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in March 2018.
Ukraine has since contacted US authorities to extradite Inosov for criminal prosecution.
Sergienko was a notable journalist who penned a series of articles exposing local oligarch and MP Hennadii Bobov. He was also a member of the rightwing Svoboda party and an activist who took part in the protests against Ukraine’s former president Viktor Yanukovych. He was an active member of the Automaidan movement, which was a group of car drivers who opposed Yanukovych.
Inosov is a former MMA fighter with 1-2 record. His most recent fight took place in February 2013.