Recent killings of well-known journalists have shone a light on increasing concerns over press freedom around the world.
The question of impunity for crimes against journalists became more prominent following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul. The Turkish chief prosecutor’s office said Wednesday that the Washington Post columnist and moderate critic of the Saudi regime was killed as soon as he entered the consulate October 2.
His murder follows on from the killing of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in a car bomb in October 2017.
Caruana Galizia had been involved in the Panama Papers investigation into offfshore wealth and was looking into alleged corruption in Maltese politics at the time of her death.
Her sons, Matthew and Andrew Caruana Galizia, have led the campaign to find out who was responsible for the their mother’s murder and frequently speak out on the issue of press freedom.
“You cannot expect justice from a tyrant,” wrote Matthew Caruana Galizia in a Twitter post. “Jamal Khashoggi’s family and fiancée depend entirely on the international community. I know because so do we.”
Friday marks the United Nations’ International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, chosen to commemorate the murder of two French journalists in Mali on November 2, 2013.
The Eiffel Tower in Paris turned dark on Thursday night to mark the occasion.
Around 1,010 journalists have been killed for doing their job over the past 12 years, and nine out of 10 killings remain unpunished, according to a statement from the UN.
The organization has called on nations to prevent violence against journalists and bring perpetrators to justice.
“These last weeks have demonstrated once again the toxic nature and outsized reach of political incitement against journalists, and we demand that it stop,” the UN said.
You can read more about journalists who have been killed for doing their job using #TruthNeverDies.
