News
Friday, June 03, 2011
IFJ expresses solidarity with Pak journalistsLAHORE: The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) stands with journalists in Pakistan as they hold two days of mourning for their colleague Saleem Shahzad and prepare for countrywide rallies on June 3 to express their outrage at his murder, a press release said on Thursday. Journalists’ unions affiliated with the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) will hoist black flags and conduct condolence meetings with human rights activists and civil society groups. The body of Shahzad, 40, was found on May 31 from Mandi Bahauddin, around 150 kilometres southeast of Islamabad. Shahzad, a father of three who worked for Asia Times Online and an Italian news agency, Adnkronos, disappeared in Islamabad around 5.45pm on May 29. A post-mortem revealed 15 torture marks on his body, but no bullet wounds. The death was likely caused by a fatal blow to the chest region, according to news reports. As hundreds of people attended Shahzad’s funeral in Karachi on June 1, journalist organisations and press freedom advocates from around the world issued a joint letter appealing to the Pakistan government to quickly implement all appropriate measures to protect media personnel and to prosecute the murderers of journalists in Pakistan. pr
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk