“I condemn the murders of Ilyas Shurpayev and Gadzhi Abashilov,” declared the Director-General. “Attacking journalists means attacking society as a whole, since journalists exercise a profession that is vital for informed democratic debate and responsible decision-making. I therefore hope that the investigations launched by the Russian authorities into these heinous crimes will be successful and that their culprits will be brought to trial.”

Firefighters found the body of Ilyas Shurpayev, 32, in his apartment in Moscow where he is said to have been strangled and stabbed. Mr Shurpayev, a reporter for Russian state television's Channel One, often worked in the republics of Dagestan, South Ossetia and in Georgia's secessionist republic of Abkhazia. Gadzhi Abashilov, 58, is reported to have been shot dead in his car in Makhachkala. He was the head of the state broadcasting company.

UNESCO is the only United Nations agency with a mandate to defend freedom of expression and press freedom. Article 1 of its Constitution requires the Organization to “further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations.” To realize this purpose the Organization is required to “collaborate in the work of advancing the mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples, through all means of mass communication and to that end recommend such international agreements as may be necessary to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image…”