The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, has called on the authorities to bring to trial those responsible for the murder of journalist Shubham Mani Tripathi on 19 of June in the district of Unnao, near Lucknow, in northern India.
“I condemn the murder of Shubham Mani Tripathi,” said the Director-General. “I call on the authorities to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice, which is essential to deter other criminals from practicing gunpoint censorship.”
Shubham Mani Tripathi had been covering land disputes marked by allegations of corruption for Hindi daily KampuMailwhen he was shot dead by two assailants while riding his motorbike back home. In recent social media posts, the reporter had expressed fear of retaliation in relation to his work.
UNESCO promotes the safety of journalists through global awareness-raising, capacity building and a range of actions, notably in the framework of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.
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See also: UNESCO observatory of killed journalists
Media contact: Guilherme Canela De Souza Godoi, g.godoi@unesco.org