The head of the United Nations' culture body UNESCO on Thursday deplored the killing this week of Indian journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh, calling it "an attack on the fundamental right to freedom of expression" and urging Lankesh's killers to be brought to justice.
“I condemn the murder of Gauri Lankesh,” UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova said in a statement.
“Any attack on the media is an attack on the fundamental right to freedom of expression of each member of society," Bokova continued
Lankesh, 55, the editor and publisher of the Gauri Lankesh Patrike, a Kannada-language weekly, and an outspoken critic of Hindu right-wing extremism, was shot dead on Monday by motorcycle-borne gunmen outside her home in the southern Indian city of Bangalore.
"I urge the Indian authorities to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice and this crime is punished,” said Bokova.
