IPI will demand justice in the murder of Kuciak

The Executive Board of the International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, publishers and journalists for media freedom, will gather in Bratislava to demand justice for the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak. It will take place on November 2, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.

“Our decision as the Executive Board to meet in Bratislava on International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists is to send a message that the international journalistic community will not accept impunity in the murder of Ján Kuciak or of any other journalists killed for his or her work,” said IPI Executive Board Chair Markus Spillmann, as quoted in a press release. “We stand in solidarity with our colleagues in Slovakia and we call on the Slovak authorities to ensure that justice for Ján and Martina is served.”

At the same time, IPI welcomed the recent progress in the Kuciak investigation, but it knows that impunity is “a stubborn foe”, as IPI Executive Director Barbara Trionfi said.

“The path to justice remains long, and IPI and its members around the world will continue to raise our voice until all those responsible for this crime are indicted, prosecuted and jailed,” she added, as quoted in the press release.

Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová were shot to death in mid-February in their house in Ve?ká Ma?a (Trnava Region). Kuciak, an investigative journalist with the Aktuality.sk news website, had been covering high-level corruption cases, including alleged links between organised crime and top Slovak politicians, as IPI stated in the press release.

The killing triggered an upheaval in Slovak society, forcing out former Prime Minister, Robert Fico (Smer).

More on the programme
Led by Spillmann, the former editor-in-chief of Switzerland’s Neue Zürcher Zeitung, the Board will hold its regular semi-annual meeting at the offices of the Sme daily.

In Bratislava the board members will carry out a visit of solidarity to the memorial for Kuciak and Kušnírová in Bratislava as well as meet with representatives of the Slovak media community.

The 24 members of the IPI’s Executive Board are leading editors and journalists working for some of the world’s most respected media organisations. Board members hail from 21 countries on five continents – Austria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Finland, Germany, Japan, Jordan, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Qatar, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, the UK and the US – and give, together with IPI’s broader membership, expression to the universal value of press freedom and independent journalism.
Source: https://spectator.sme.sk

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