The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has launched annual “Victory for Victoria” commemoration named after journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who died in Russian custody. This annual commemoration will honour journalists who risk their lives defending the right to information and truth in conflict zones.
This was announced officially at the autumn PACE part-session in Starsbourg (France) on 1 October.
The initiative was proposed by PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos and welcomed by the Assembly in the context of the recently passed resolution on the liberation of Ukrainian journalists in Russian captivity.
It was inaugurated with the opening of a photo exhibition of the same name, at the request of Yevheniia Kravchuk, member of the Ukrainian delegation.
“I would like to salute and support the proposal made by the President of the Assembly to establish an annual Victory for Viktoria commemoration, honouring war correspondents and journalists who risk and often lose their lives in the line of duty while defending the right to information and truth in conflict zones,” said Ms Kravchuk. “Mr Rousopoulos proposed that this commemoration should be named in memory of Viktoria Roshchyna, although her story is not an isolated one. Every year, dozens of journalists are killed, imprisoned, or forcibly disappeared in war zones.”
The commemoration aims to honour journalists killed or disappeared in conflict, promote freedom of expression and media independence as guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, and support Council of Europe initiatives such as the Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists.
Earlier, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution calling for increased political, economic, and diplomatic pressure on Russia to ensure the release of illegally detained Ukrainian journalists. The PACE decision was passed at the 1 October session in Strasbourg (France).
