Son of Murdered Maltese Journalist to Attend Conference on Media Freedom

Bratislava, February 6 (TASR) - Protecting journalists, lawsuits aimed at the media in order to intimidate them and protecting the independence of editorial offices will be high on the agenda of an international conference called 'Media Freedom 2023', due to take place in Bratislava on February 20, the day before the fifth anniversary of the murders of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova. "The son of murdered Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Matthew, will be the special guest at the conference," Culture Ministry representatives told a news conference on Monday. The conference will be held under the auspices of the Media Freedom Coalition initiative. "The coalition actively seeks to promote media freedom and the protection of all those who work in the media environment. Therefore, the conference's goal is to highlight key issues in this area," said Culture Minister Natalia Milanova (OLaNO). Ministry State Secretary Radoslav Kutas said that in individual panels, speakers and debaters will deal with the draft European Act on Media Freedom, lawsuits against the media whose role is to deter them from investigative work, and the importance of protecting the independence of editorial offices. The list of panelists will include representatives of the Reporters Without Borders organisation and the Jan Kuciak Investigative Centre. ko/df