Macron Decries Journalist’s Death in Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the media during the second day of a European Union leaders summit, as EU leaders attempt to agree on Russian oil sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium May 31, 2022. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the media during the second day of a European Union leaders summit, as EU leaders attempt to agree on Russian oil sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium May 31, 2022. (Reuters)
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Macron Decries Journalist’s Death in Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the media during the second day of a European Union leaders summit, as EU leaders attempt to agree on Russian oil sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium May 31, 2022. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the media during the second day of a European Union leaders summit, as EU leaders attempt to agree on Russian oil sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium May 31, 2022. (Reuters)

French President Emmanuel Macron vowed France will continue to "fight against impunity" after a French journalist was killed by shell shrapnel while covering a Ukrainian evacuation operation.

The French national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office opened an investigation for war crimes.

Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, 32, was killed Monday as he was covering a humanitarian operation near Sievierodonetsk, a key city in the Donbas region that is being hotly contested by Russian and Ukrainian forces, according to his employer, French news broadcaster BFM TV.

Macron, speaking after a European summit in Brussels, said "journalists, humanitarian workers must be protected in war zones. Civilians must be protected."

Russia "is breaching all international laws," he said.



Iran Police Commander Dismissed After Death in Custody

A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
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Iran Police Commander Dismissed After Death in Custody

A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)

Iran's police force has dismissed the commander of a city in the northern province of Gilan after the death in custody of a detainee, state media said on Saturday.

Mohammad Mir Mousavi, 36, was arrested on July 22 after being involved in a fight in Lahijan, police said in a statement carried by the official news agency IRNA.

"The police commander... was dismissed due to insufficient oversight of the conduct and behaviour of staff," the police said, AFP reported.

"Due to the complexity of the matter, the final conclusion on the cause of Mohammad Mir Mousavi's death depends on the medical examiner's final report.

The police said the station commander and several officers involved in the incident had been suspended.

"The behaviour of some law enforcement officers was against the professional policy of the police and that is not acceptable in any way, so they were referred to the judicial authority," the statement added.

The Norway-based Kurdish human rights organization, Hengaw, on Wednesday said Mir Mousavi "was killed under torture in the detention center".

On Thursday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered an investigation into the case.

Dismissals of members of the security forces are rare in Iran.

In 2022, the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who had been arrested in Tehran for an alleged breach of the country's strict dress code for women, sparked months of deadly nationwide protests.