To: UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Mr. David Kaye<\/p>\n
To: Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Dunja Mijatovi\u0107<\/p>\n
To: OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Mr. Harlem D\u00e9sir<\/p>\n
Dear Rapporteurs on human rights and freedom of expression and the media,<\/p>\n
We are writing to you to share our concerns regarding the Slovakian Police\u2019s questioning of and confiscation of investigative journalist Pavla Holcova\u2019s mobile phone and to call on you to ensure that any intimidation of journalists is closely monitored, denounced and prevented.<\/p>\n
As you may be aware, Ms. Holcova is an investigative journalist that worked with 27-year-old J\u00e1n Kuciak, who was murdered together with his fianc\u00e9e in his own home, apparently in retaliation for his investigations into corruption and into the abuse of EU and other public funds in Slovakia. We are particularly concerned to ensure that this murder is independently and thoroughly investigated with a view to identifying the perpetrators and preventing impunity for crimes against journalists.<\/p>\n
In response to the shocking news of the murders, the European Parliament sent a special ad hoc delegation to Slovakia, and adopted the European Parliament Resolution of 19 April 2018 on protection of investigative journalists in Europe: the case of Slovak journalist J\u00e1n Kuciak and Martina Ku\u0161n\u00edrov\u00e1 (2018\/2628(RSP)).<\/p>\n
We hope that we can count on you to mobilise all the necessary resources to ensure that Ms. Holcova is adequately protected and supported, and we would like to offer our support and collaboration in dealing with this important matter.<\/p>\n
We look forward to your response and to coordinating our work on the protection of media freedom in the future.<\/p>\n
Many thanks in advance for your diligence in this matter,
\nYours sincerely,
\nPascal Durand, Member of the European Parliament, Greens\/EFA Group
\nSven Giegold, Member of the European Parliament, Greens\/EFA Group
\nBenedek J\u00e1vor, Member of the European Parliament, Greens\/EFA Group
\nEva Joly, Member of the European Parliament, Greens\/EFA Group
\nAna Miranda, Member of the European Parliament, Greens\/EFA Group
\nJulia Reda, Member of the European Parliament, Greens\/EFA Group
\nJosep-Maria Terricabras, Member of the European Parliament, Greens\/EFA Group<\/p>\n