The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has responded to news reports that Spanish journalists David Beriain and Roberto Fraile were killed after being abducted on April 26, in eastern Burkina Faso while working on a documentary and urged the authorities in Burkina Faso to thoroughly and transparently investigate their killings and ensure that those responsible are found and brought to justice.
“Too often journalists are killed with impunity; authorities must ensure that does not happen in this case, and should find the attackers and the planners of this violent act at once,” Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator said in a statement on Tuesday.
The two journalists were working on a documentary about poaching when unidentified gunmen ambushed the group of about 40 people they were traveling with, according to those news reports.
According to the statement, the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez confirmed the journalist’s deaths in a tweet on Tuesday.
“Reached by messaging app, Peggy Ouedraogo, a communication officer for Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Communication, shared a statement that confirmed four people had disappeared during an attack in a wildlife reserve in the eastern part of the country on April 26,” the statement added.
GIK/APA