There have been six journalists and four media assistants killed globally since January 2021, according to Reporters Without Borders, and the death of Giorgos Karaivaz last week marks the fourth death of a journalist in Europe in the past five years.<\/p>\n
With harsh crackdowns on journalists in Belarus<\/a>, imprisonment threats made to journalists in Turkey<\/a> and a reporter’s car in Brittany sabotaged<\/a>, the murder of Greek journalist Giorgos Karaivaz has only led to further concerns over the steady deterioration of press freedom across Europe.<\/p>\n Pavol Szalai, head of the EU and Balkans desk at Reporters Without Borders, says in the Guardian<\/a>: “It is a worrying picture. Europe remains the safest place in the world to be a journalist, but the pressures on press freedoms – and the risks – are mounting. This is also a trend of growing concern – violence against journalists and arbitrary arrests.”<\/p>\n Karaivaz’s murder follows the deaths of several journalists across Europe, including Lyra McKee, who was shot dead whilst covering riots in Derry, Northern Ireland in April 2019, Daphne Caruana Galizia who was killed by a car bomb in 2017, and Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, who were killed in their home in Slovakia in 2018.<\/p>\n Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European commission, tweeted last week after the death of Giorgos Karaivaz on the importance of press freedom:<\/p>\n Murdering a journalist is a despicable, cowardly act. <\/p>\n Europe stands for freedom. And freedom of press may be the most sacred of all. Journalists must be able to work safely.<\/p>\n My thoughts are with the family of George Karaivaz. I hope the criminals are soon brought to justice.<\/p>\n — Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) April 9, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n\n