Veronika Cherkasova

Veronika Cherkasova (Belarusian: Чаркасава Вэраніка Анатольеўна, Veranika Charkasava; Russian: Черкасова Вероника Анатольевна) (January 12 1959 - October 20, 2004), a Belarusian journalist, born in Minsk, Belarus. She was stabbed to death in her Minsk apartment on October 20, 2004. The killer inflicted about 20 stab wounds. Veronika Cherkasova had worked for various independent opposition newspapers - "BDG" (in the 90's), "Belorusskaya Gazeta" (1995-2003) and, finally, in 2003-2004 for "Salidarnaść" (Solidarity) newspaper. She specialized in investigative journalism and wrote about social issues, including articles about religious sects and gypsy communities in Belarus, but also she published several articles about illegal arms trade between Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus and Saddam Hussein's Iraq.