"
He paid with his life for his quest for reliable, honest, independent, vital information for our democracies
", regrets Reporters Without Borders in a statement about Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, a French journalist killed at 32 in the Donbass.
The organization calls for him to "
pay homage, place de la République in Paris, Friday June 10 at 6:30 p.m.
".
Read alsoFrédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, 32-year-old French journalist killed in Ukraine: "smiling", "discreet", "altruistic" ... His colleagues pay tribute to him
According to the governor of Luhansk province, Serhiy Gaïdaï, the reporter had boarded an evacuation truck
“left to look for 10 people
” when he fell
“under enemy fire”
.
A piece of shrapnel went through the windshield,
"hitting him in the neck"
.
Information confirmed by Emmanuel Macron indicating that he was "
on board a humanitarian bus, alongside civilians forced to flee to escape Russian bombs
".
Height of indignity, the separatist forces of Donbass accused him of being a “foreign mercenary”.
“He is not presented only as a journalist.
Even Ukrainian media say he was a volunteer.
So we do not rule out (the possibility) that he was engaged in the delivery of arms and ammunition to the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
(...) I would not qualify him as a journalist since all his activities were, probably, of another type.
He can be called a foreign mercenary.
And it is absolutely clear that he was an accomplice of the Ukrainian far-right forces.
We have seen what help such volunteers provide to the Ukrainian troops - they deliver ammunition which is used to kill civilians”
.
"
Your statement makes me nauseous,
" replied his mother
.
Everyone here knows his professional and personal commitment to democracy, human respect and above all free, impartial and honest information, all notions that seem far removed from what drives you.
»
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