CAUGHT BY ARABNEWS.COM
ISLAMABAD: During a questioning session on Tuesday, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller stressed the safety of journalists “around the world” in response to a recent Kenyan court ruling that ruled the 2022 police assassination of Pakistani presenter Arshad Sharif inappropriate.
After sedition charges were brought against him, Sharif—who was widely perceived as being critical of Pakistan’s formidable military and a devoted supporter of the imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan—left the nation in August 2022.
- After Arshad Sharif fled to Kenya in 2022 to face charges of sedition, the Kenyan police shot and killed him.
- After reviewing the evidence, a Kenyan court requested that the officers who shot him be charged criminally.
He was driving to Nairobi when he was shot and killed by Kenyan police almost two months later. The shooting was attributed to “mistaken identity,” according to the state’s law enforcement officials in Africa.
However, after reviewing the case file, the Kenyan court directed the authorities to file charges against the officers who shot the Pakistani journalist, according to the attorney for Sharif’s widow.
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At his press briefing in Washington, Miller responded, “I’m not going to comment in any way specifically on this case,” when asked about the Kenyan court’s decision.
“But, of course, we support the work of journalists around the world,” he continued. “And we think that it’s important that they be able to do that job—their job—safely.”
The Kenya Union of Journalists, Kenya Correspondents Association, and Sharif’s widow, Javeria Siddique, filed a complaint against top Kenyan officials last year, citing their “failure to investigate” and the “arbitrary and unlawful killing.”
The court reserved its decision on May 8 following three sessions, and it was made public on Monday.
