Brussels, 21/08/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 21 August, the European Union strongly condemned the “outrageous” murder of the American journalist James Foley by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.
“This brutal act, like the many other human rights violations which are perpetrated by the Islamic State, denies universally recognised values and rights, including the freedom of press for which Mr Foley had risked his life on several occasions”, said Sebastien Brabant, spokesperson to High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton. “Such forms of terrorism constitute one of the most serious threats to international peace and security”, he stressed.
The spokesperson reiterated that the EU is “more committed than ever to support international efforts to fight terrorism, to combat human rights violations and to restore the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria”. “The EU will use all means at its disposal to contribute to this endeavour”, pledged Brabant, adding that the EU would continue to promote the safety of journalists in the Middle East and worldwide.
Many European ministers have spoken out in the strongest possible terms against the journalist's murder. British minister Philip Hammond described Foley's murder as a “blatant example of the brutality” of the IS. The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, broke off his holidays to hold several emergency meetings in London. It is strongly suspected that Foley's murderer is a British national. “The murder of the journalist James Foley is outrageous. It shows that the stock-in-trade of the Islamic State is barbarism”, said Laurent Fabius of France (our translation). Lithuania's Linas Linkevicius described the killing as “brutal” and Germany described it as “vile”.
Foley, a 40-year-old self-employed journalist who worked for AFP and Global Post, was kidnapped in Syria in November 2012. In 2011, he was held hostage in Libya for 44 days. (CG)