“We want the truth. We want to know what happened and we hope that those responsible will be found and justice served. That’s what Pierre would want, so we have to do it.” With a voice imbued with emotion, Nicolas Zakrzewski displays his determination. With his brother Grégoire, he welcomed the “Complementary investigation” team to his home on May 19 in a suburb of Dublin (Ireland). Both are speaking for the first time in French media since the death of their older brother, Pierre Zakrzewski, a 55-year-old Franco-Irish cameraman who worked for the Fox News channel, killed in Ukraine on March 14.
He was the first French journalist killed in Ukraine. Monday, May 30, a colleague from BFMTV, Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, has also just died there, during a report on a humanitarian convoy.
Pierre Zakrzewski was a passionate and experienced cameraman, having covered many conflicts: Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan. “A model” for his brothers, who describe a man “honest, human and funny” who wanted above all “to tell through his images the impact of war on people”. However, “He was careful, says Gregory. You don’t spend thirty years in these dangerous places without being careful.”
From Ukraine, where he arrived in early February, Pierre regularly sent reassuring text messages to his family. “He didn’t tell us but I think he was worried”continues this 50-year-old architect who lives in Dublin.
At this time, troops from Moscow were at the gates of kyiv. “It was a very difficult battlefield because there was no real front line, he points out. The Russians were everywhere, the Ukrainians were everywhere, so the situation was complicated to manage.”
When the tragedy occurs, on March 14, Pierre is on assignment in the northwest of kyiv, according to a Ukrainian judicial source questioned by “Complementary investigation”, in the small town of Moshchun, a high-risk area. “We know he was in the car with Fox News reporter Benjamin Hall and their Ukrainian fixer Oleksandra, says Gregory. There was shell or missile fire, not bullets, and they were all dead except Benjamin Hall who was seriously injured.” Pierre would have died instantly, outside the car.
The news of his death reaches the whole family the next day. His wife, Michelle, was notified first, followed by his five siblings. “I never want to live a moment like this again”breathes Nicolas. “For the whole family, it was a huge shock, adds this 49-year-old computer scientist. We knew his job was dangerous.”
“Intellectually, yes, we thought something could happen to him. But you can never be ready to learn of the death of your brother.”
Nicholas Zakrzewskito “Further investigation”
The repatriation of the body, managed by the teams of his employer, Fox News, takes five days. Pierre Zakrzewski is buried in Ireland, the country where he grew up. The media around the world relay his tragic death. “It surprised us a lotslips Nicolas. The day after his death, I stopped at a station to get gas, there were newspapers, and his photo, with his face, was everywhere. It upset me.”
Since then, this close-knit family has wanted to know the precise circumstances of Pierre’s death. Crucial questions remain unanswered. Were Pierre and his colleagues identified as journalists? Who fired and were they deliberately targeted? They thus welcomed with hope the opening of a war crime investigation, on March 16, by the French National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat). “We are very happy with this decision by the French authorities. It is important to know how it all went, for Pierre and for all the reporters who take risks”insists Gregory.
“Journalists must be protected and the only way, when such tragedies occur, is to make it known that there are consequences, that a judicial system will follow and find out the truth.”
Nicholas Zakrzewskito “Further investigation”
Due to the international dimension of the investigation, which must be carried out in a country at war, the two brothers are preparing for a procedure that will last for years.
Since the start of the conflict, eight journalists have already been killed in Ukraine, now the most dangerous country for media professionals. Following the death of BFMTV journalist Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office also opened a war crime investigation.