The European Parliament today passed a resolution on the protection of investigative journalists, following the murder of Ján Kuciak and his partner Martina Kušnírová in Slovakia. The resolution calls for the EU to do all it can to support the investigation into the murder and for new protections for journalists.

 

 

“Last month we were in Slovakia to understand the situation around the horrific murder of Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová. We visited the village where the couple were murdered, to show our respects. We also met with government officials, NGOs, and journalists to learn more about the case and situation in Slovakia. This resolution is both a reflection of what we learnt and a call for greater protections for investigative journalists. The first priority is that those responsible for the murders are brought to justice. We want to see the creation of a joint investigation team by the national authorities and Europol - to make the most of the agencies expertise.

 

“We have now seen two respected investigative journalists murdered in Europe in the last six months. It shows both the extreme lengths that organised criminals will go to prevent scrutiny of their financial activities and why the work of investigative journalists is so vital. Although these are the most extreme and tragic cases, far too often journalists are subject to intimidation, legal actions, and threats to their careers. We want the European Commission to come forward with proposals on how we can better protect journalists. The resolution also calls for the creation of an EU-wide prize recognising the work of investigative journalists, similar to the Sakharov prize which recognises those working to protect human rights.”