The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, today called for an investigation into the murder of radio journalists Shafiq Arya and Rahimullah Rahmani in Taloqan, in northeastern Afghanistan.

“I condemn the murder of Shafiq Arya and Rahimullah Rahmani,” said the Director-General. “The targeting of journalists undermines the profession’s ability to carry out its mission to inform the public. Killing media workers constitutes an outrageous attack on the fundamental human right to freedom of expression and on people’s right to access information and engage debate. In the interest of justice and good governance, I call on the authorities to spare no effort in bringing those responsible for this attack to trial.”

Unidentified gunmen entered the offices of Hamsada Afghan Radio on 5 February, killing acting news editor Shafiq Arya and presenter Rahimullah Rahmani.

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.

See also: UNESCO observatory of killed journalists

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Media contact: Sylvie Coudray, s.coudray@unesco.org, +33 (0)1 45 68 08 91