EU Calls for Comprehensive Probe into Journalist Killings

(MENAFN) EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Sunday demanded a thorough investigation into the deaths of journalists operating in conflict areas, including Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, and various regions across Africa. She emphasized growing concerns over the rising dangers faced by media workers in war-torn environments.

Kallas stated in a declaration on behalf of the European Union for World Press Freedom Day that 2025 had marked the most lethal year for journalists globally, warning that harming, wounding, or threatening them "become a shocking reality."

"The killing of journalists and media professionals – as we have seen in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and in the current conflicts in the Middle East, recently in Gaza and in Lebanon as well as in Africa - should be fully investigated and those responsible must be held accountable," she said.

She further highlighted the importance of safeguarding press freedom, stressing that independent journalism remains a "cornerstone of any democratic society."

Kallas also reiterated that international legal standards are unambiguous, stating that journalists must be safeguarded at all times and allowed to perform their duties without obstruction, fear of violence, harassment, intimidation, persecution, or forced expulsion.

MENAFN03052026000045017167ID1111064091