US stresses journalists' safety after Kenyan court's verdict in Arshad Sharif case

'We support journalists worldwide and believe it's important they do their job safely,' US Dept Spokesperson Miller

WASHINGTON:

The United States has emphasized its support for journalists' safety worldwide in response to a question about the recent court verdict in the Arshad Sharif murder case in Kenya.

"We support the work of journalists around the world and think that it’s important that they be able to do their job safely," stated US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, in response to a question about the recent court verdict in the Arshad Sharif murder case in Kenya during his routine press briefing on Wednesday.

Two days ago, a court in Kenya awarded Rs21.7 million ($78,000) in compensation to the widow of a prominent Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif who was shot dead by police at a roadblock nearly two years ago.

The father-of-five received death threats that he flagged to Pakistan's top judge, before fleeing his home country to seek safety abroad.

During the Department of State's media briefing today, a journalist brought up Arshad's case, "My father served the longest term of nine and a half years in jail, so I do like to think at least about my journalist colleagues," the journalist said.

He pointed out that while Kenya's court has delivered justice in the case, Pakistani courts have yet to do so. The journalist asked if the US could urge the Pakistani judiciary and politicians to protect journalists' lives.

In response, Spokesperson Miller responded, "I’m not aware of this case, so I’m not going to comment in any way specifically on it at all, but of course, we support the work of journalists around the world. And we think that it’s important that they be able to do their job safely."

In the same press briefing, the US State Department reaffirmed that it does "not support the Taliban", clarifying that no funding is provided to the group.

"We do not provide any funding to the Taliban. That is absolutely false," stated spokesperson Mattew Miller.

Miller also confirmed ongoing discussions with Turkey regarding the Gaza ceasefire and subsequent reconstruction plans.

He mentioned Secretary Blinken's meeting with Turkish President Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, emphasizing the shared goal of achieving a durable end to the conflict with robust security, governance, and reconstruction plans for Gaza.

Addressing changes in the US State Department's team handling North Korea, Miller confirmed Dr. Jung Pak's resignation and Assistant Secretary Dan Kritenbrink taking over DPRK policy oversight. Ambassador Julie Turner and Seth Bailey continue their respective roles, with no new personnel announcements at this time.

Miller refrained from commenting on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's suggestion to Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding a barter trade system to counter Western financial sanctions.