The Belarusan National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum issued a statement in connection with journalist Pavel Sharamet murder.

Statement

of Belarusan National Platform
of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

In connection with Pavel Sharamet murder

July 22, 2016

We, representatives of the Belarusan civil society organizations, united in the framework of the Belarusan National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, deeply grieve of the untimely death of Belarusan journalist and public activist Pavel Sharamet, who was killed on July 20, 2016 in Kyiv, and express our sincerest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.

We express our deepest sympathy to the whole civil society and independent journalistic community of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, who has suffered an irreparable loss. Publications, reports, actions of Pavel with high professionalism reflected the position of millions of his like-minded people to the actual social and political problems.

These days farewell requiems to Pavel Sharamet take place in Kyiv and Minsk. Family, friends, colleagues, partners with love and pain remember Pavel as charming man, extraordinary personality, courageous and talented journalist, uncompromising citizen who has devoted his life to the positive democratic changes in three post-soviet states. It was his conscious choice in spite of political persecution in his home country, complexity and oppression in professional career, direct threats to human life. Unfortunately, his tragic death as a result of the criminal and cowardly assassination tells us about what a long way we still have to go to make these changes real and irreversible.

Such demonstrative murder of a journalist on the peaceful morning center of Kyiv is clear indication of importance of freedom of speech as well as all the work done by Pavel Sharamet for many years for the benefit of society trying to find its basis in the values of humanism, democracy, honesty, transparency, tolerance, cooperation.

We demand the competent persons and structures of Ukraine to provide fast, full and objective investigation of Pavel Sharamet’s murder, identification and legal prosecution of those responsible for his death.

We call journalist community and civil society in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia to continue the work of Pavel Sharamet and by this honor the memory of this remarkable man, citizen and professional!

Belarusan civil society organizations — participants of Belarusan National Platform of the EaP Civil Society Forum

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