Freedom of the press

Journalist Olivier Dubois present at a tribute to Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon in Paris

Audio 01:17

Journalist Olivier Dubois was present at the tribute to Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, on May 3, 2023 on the square bearing their name in Paris. © Guillaume Thibault / RFI

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

In the heart of Paris, on Place Ghislaine Dupont, Claude Verlon and Camille Lepage, press freedom defenders gathered on Wednesday morning, May 3, to pay tribute to our RFI colleagues murdered in Kidal, Mali, in 2013 and to the young photographer killed in the Central African Republic in 2014. Among them was journalist Olivier Dubois who spent 23 months in captivity in the Sahel.

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Portraits of Ghislaine, Claude and Camille in hand, sun and silence, for the relatives of the murdered journalists, this annual gathering is above all a moment of contemplation. "Ghislaine and Claude had values of high standards, rigor and independence," recallsDanièle Gonod, president of the association of friends of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon. The notion of standing journalism, which represents not only the powerful, the rulers, the politicians, but they also wanted to be the voice of the voiceless.

Danièle Gonod, president of the association of friends of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon: "After 10 years, we have not given up"

Guillaume Thibault

Faced with pressure on journalists and the inaction of states to investigate attacks or assassinations, the International Federation of Journalists, chaired by Dominique Pradalié, calls on the United Nations to adopt a convention. "The convention we propose against impunity is a supranational convention that establishes concrete bases for work and possibilities for investigations and investigations in all countries.

«  Today, I am free, it is thanks to you »

Smiling radiantly in the crowd and a symbol for this day for press freedom, freelance journalist Olivier Dubois, released in March 2023 after 23 months of captivity in the Sahel, wished to speak. "Today, I am free, it is thanks to you, you who are attached to the freedom of the press," he says. And so there you have it, I'd like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Let us continue to defend the freedom of the press, and contribute to its influence in the world.

Rally this morning at #Paris at Place Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon for the commemoration of World Press Freedom Day. Among the speakers, @LolivDubois last French hostage freed in #Sahel and @konate90, a Malian journalist. #DIT pic.twitter.com/Hx4zvQLqyo

— Danouma Ismael TRAORE (@Danoumis_Traore) May 3, 2023

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• France
• Freedom of the press
• Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon