UNESCO condemns murder of Slovakian journalist

The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) condemned on Wednesday the murder of a journalist who was investigating a corruption scandal in Slovakia.

Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO, urged the Slovakian authorities to investigate the killing of Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend who were shot dead on Sunday at their home in the southwestern town of Velka Maca, near capital Bratislava.

"I condemn the murder of Jan Kuciak," Azoulay said in a statement.

"Journalists have the right to fulfil their mission to inform without fearing for their lives. I call on the authorities to thoroughly investigate this case and bring the perpetrators of this crime to trial," he added.

Slovakian police chief Tibor Gaspar said on Monday it was likely that the murders "have something to do with Kuciak's investigative activities," adding that they seemed to have been planned in advance.

According to the Slovakian media, Kuciak, 27, an employee of news website aktuality.sk, had been investigating tax evasion.

The murder of Kuciak is the first killing of a journalist in Slovakia since the country became a member of the EU in 2004, UNESCO said.