We will never stop fighting for Press Freedom

Independent media continue to be threatened in many European countries. On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the murder of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kušnírová, the EPP Group reiterates its commitment to press freedom and emphasises the role of a free press to protect democracy.

"Five years ago, journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová were brutally murdered for exposing corruption in Slovakia, with links to high-level Government officials, including members of Robert Fico' s party. Today, we honour his memory and recommit to the values he stood for: accountability, truth, and justice, a more just society for all. For Jan Kuciak, for Daphne Caruana Galizia , we will never stop fighting for Justice, for freedom of the press, and we will never accept journalists being killed for doing their jobs", stated Manfred Weber MEP, EPP President and Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament.

"The murder of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina was a result of years of verbal attacks by top politicians on the journalistic community, which was just doing its job properly. Government officials labelled them as foreign traitors and undermined verbal threats from persons mentioned in Kuciak articles. Prime Minister Robert Fico himself labelled them as "dirty anti-Slovak prostitutes". Fico's rule undermined democracy in Slovakia for a long time, and an atmosphere of fear spread in society, while people with dubious reputations linked to the then ruling party Smer-SD, a member of the European Socialist Group, felt untouchable. The cold-blooded murder has become a symbol of an era that must not be repeated again in the 21st century, in any country of the European Union", warned Ivan Štefanec MEP, Head of the Slovak Delegation of the EPP Group in the European Parliament.