Violence escalates as Romania cracks down on illegal timber trade

Two rangers have been killed in three months and whistleblowers face intimidation and ostracism

In the hamlet of Deia, nestled in the forested hills of Suceava county in northern Romania, Ilie BucETMAf and his brother Dumitru have become pariahs. Recently an angry mob attacked the brothers, leaving Ilie with concussion and wounds all over his body. Old friends cross the road to avoid the brothers, having been warned to stay away or face losing their jobs. One night, someone even poured anti-freeze into the brothers' fish pond, killing half their fish.

Their sin? They have been methodically filing complaints about illegal logging in the area.