The European chapter of the Global Alliance for Media and Gender (GAMAG EUROPA, GE) joins the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in calling for a transparent, international investigation of recent killings of female journalists worldwide.
On May 11, Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead by Israeli soldiers while covering a raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin. The death of the Al Jazeera veteran has sparked international condemnation, as well as grief in the Arab world and beyond. Later, footage seen worldwide showed Israeli police officers using batons to beat mourners carrying the journalist’s coffin during the funeral procession, causing the coffin to fall out of the hands of some pallbearers.
Abu Akleh’s death was only the latest of several female journalists around the world.
In Mexico, in the municipality of Cosoleacaque, in the state of Veracruz, Yesenia Mollinedo Falconi and Sheila Johana García were murdered inside a vehicle. Mollinedo Falconi was the editor of the online news site El Veraz, and García had worked as a reporter for the outlet for six months.
Mollinedo Falconi had reportedly received a telephone threat, warning her to stop investigating the police force.
In Santiago, Chile, armed individuals opened fire on a demonstration on Workers’ Day, killing Francisca Sandoval. She was shot in the face while covering the protest for Canal Señal 3. Three other journalists were injured in the crossfire.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, journalist Vera Girich from Radio Liberty, was killed when a Russian missile hit the house where she lived in Kyiv.
Likewise, in Afghanistan, three female journalists, all working for the Afghan television network Enikass TV, were shot dead in two attacks in the east of the country, in Jalalabad. The events occurred in the context of a targeted assassination campaign against media professionals and activists, designed to frighten civil society.
The first victim, Mursal Habibi, was shot dead as she returned home, whilst media workers Sadia Sadat and Shanaz Roafi were killed as they left work.
As a body committed to defending basic freedoms, equality, diversity and human rights, GAMAG Europe calls upon the governments of the countries involved, the EU, European governments, and other international bodies, to undertake thorough investigations of these murders and make sure justice prevails.
