OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir has said the murder of Belarusian journalist Pavel Sheremet must be fully investigated.
"Three years on, Pavel Sheremet's murder remains unsolved and continues to exert a chilling effect on freedom of expression, media freedom and safety of journalists," he said on the third anniversary of Sheremet's murder in Ukraine, according to the OSCE's press release.
Read alsoU.S. urges Ukraine to find, bring perpetrators of Sheremet's murder to justice
Désir reiterated his call on the Ukrainian authorities to step up their efforts in ending impunity for attacks on and murders of journalists.
"The Ukrainian authorities have a duty to ensure that his murder, as well as all other attacks on and killings of journalists, are prosecuted and that the perpetrators and masterminds behind these crimes are brought to justice. Impunity for such crimes is unacceptable and breeds further violence," he added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky summoned heads of the law enforcement agencies to report on the progress of the probe into the murder of Belarusian journalist Pavel Sheremet.
UNIAN memo. Pavel Sheremet, a journalist from Belarus who was residing in Kyiv, was blown up in a car on the morning of July 20, 2016. Police opened a criminal case under Clause 5 of Part 2 of Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (felonious homicide committed in a way dangerous for many people's life).
Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko called revenge for professional activity as a major theory behind the journalist's murder. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov did not rule out Russia's involvement in the assassination. He said that the National Police is ready to pay UAH 200,000 for any information with regard to the murder.
