the investigation into the death of Franco-Irish journalist Pierre Zakrzewski entrusted to investigating judges

The 55-year-old cameraman was killed in Horenka, northwest of kyiv, while covering the conflict in Ukraine, in March 2022.

Two years after the death of Pierre Zakrzewski, the investigations were entrusted to investigating judges of the Paris court, franceinfo learned from a judicial source on Wednesday April 17. They must shed light on the death of the Franco-Irish journalist from Fox News, killed on March 14, 2022 while covering the Russian offensive in Ukraine.

The 55-year-old cameraman was killed in Horenka, northwest of kyiv, along with a Ukrainian woman who accompanied him, Oleksandra Kuvshynova. Their vehicle was fired upon, Fox News Media said at the time.

The investigations, carried out by the Central Office for the Fight against Crimes Against Humanity, Genocides and War Crimes (OCLCH), aim in particular to identify the perpetrators of the shooting and determine the circumstances of this attack. “Judicial cooperation worked extremely well within the framework of the preliminary investigation opened by the specialized section of the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat), the day after the death of Pierre Zakrzewski.”react to franceinfo the family’s lawyers, Clémence Witt and Anaïs Sarron. “Our clients are now delighted with the start of this second phase: the referral to investigating judges will allow them (…) to become civil parties and participate more actively in the ongoing investigations”.

Given the French nationality of the journalist, the Pnat had opened, in March 2022, an investigation for war crimes, in this case “voluntary attack on the life of a person protected by international law” and “deliberate attack against a civilian person who does not take a direct part in hostilities.

“Pierre used his camera to tell the stories of the people he met with clarity and truth, even if it was difficult or dangerous”, testifies in a press release published by RSF Michelle Ross-Stanton, his wife. His mother, Marie-Ange Zakrzewska, emphasizes “his freedom of spirit, his great empathy and his limitless energy”. “When international judicial cooperation on the ground is effective, the capacity of French justice to move quickly taking into account the context of war makes it possible to fight effectively against impunity”, reacted Emmanuel Daoud, the lawyer for Reporters Without Borders (RSF). According to RSF, 11 journalists died while covering the war in Ukraine.