The Interview

FRANCE 24 spoke to Tirana Hassan, acting executive director of Human Rights Watch, which is publishing its annual report this week. Although the report reveals the grim picture of a world shattered by multiple crises, our guest believes the attacks carried out against democratic institutions, such as in Brazil, show the "desperation of autocrats, despots and strongmen who are beginning to lose power", adding that "there are cracks in the autocratic armour of the Chinese government". Hassan also welcomed the response of the international community to the war in Ukraine.

FRANCE 24 spoke to Hamed Esmaeilion as to why he believes the Iranian authorities intentionally “sacrificed” the 176 passengers of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 shot down on January 8, 2020. Esmaeilion told Marc Perelman why the ongoing protests in Iran “can't be silenced and will continue until the end of the Islamic regime”.

FRANCE 24 spoke to Lina Attalah, co-founder and editor of the independent Egyptian media outlet Mada Masr. In late August, the paper published a story about corruption within the ruling Nation's Future Party, which backs President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. As a result, Attalah and three of her staffers were charged with criminal offences, including "publishing false news", before being released on bail. In a country where press freedom is shrinking, independent Egyptian journalists "feel really lonely", she said.

FRANCE 24 spoke to Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, co-laureate of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize and editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, an independent media outlet that was forced to suspend publication in Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. At the 30th annual Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Awards, Muratov described the muzzling of the press in Russia as a pillar of Kremlin propaganda. He added that while Moscow can "destroy" Ukraine's infrastructure, "it will never be able to conquer it".

Can Dundar, the former editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, one of Turkey's main newspapers, discussed the press freedom situation in his native country during an interview with FRANCE 24. "If you are challenging the government's interests, you are branded a terrorist or a traitor," he said. Dundar added that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was trying to create chaos in a bid to win the next elections, scheduled for June 2023.

In an interview with FRANCE 24 from Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that any use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine would have "severe, dramatic consequences for Russia", calling Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear rhetoric "reckless and dangerous". However, the NATO chief said he believes "the likelihood of any use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine by Russia remains low". Meanwhile, Stoltenberg called the Russian strategy of targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure "a brutal form of warfare" and "a way to weaponise winter", but said he was confident that the Ukrainians would continue to resist.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal gave an exclusive interview to FRANCE 24 from Kyiv in which he accused Russia of conducting "terrorist" attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure but stressed that Ukraine would win the war in order to protect their democracy, their families, and their freedom.

The new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Austria's Volker Türk, granted a wide-ranging interview to FRANCE 24 from Geneva. This week, the High Commissioner travelled to Ukraine to observe first-hand the consequences of Russia's invasion on the Ukrainian people. During his visit, Türk had to take cover in an underground shelter in Kyiv as Russian missiles hit civilian targets. Speaking to FRANCE 24, he condemned what he called "war crimes" in Ukraine: "The picture that emerges is [one of] torture, summary executions, disappearances, wilful killings of civilians and that's very, very tragic and shocking."

Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), addressed the danger of nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine in an interview with FRANCE 24 from Vienna. "We expect that no use of a nuclear weapon whatsoever will take place in this or in any other conflict," Grossi said when asked about recent threats by Moscow. He went on to call the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant "very precarious", adding that he was still hoping for a deal on the establishment of a demilitarised safe zone around the plant. "We need to do this now. It's not impossible, we have a credible, viable proposal on the table," he said.

The human rights defender Bianca Jagger continues her battle against the political repression of the Ortega regime in Nicaragua, where she was born. Several bishops and priests are incarcerated in Nicaragua, where the Catholic Church is suspected of supporting the opposition. In an interview with FRANCE 24, Jagger appealed directly to Pope Francis, asking him to "condemn" the acts of President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo, Ortega's wife. She also urged the international community to "impose serious sanctions" on the regime, saying it is committing "crimes against humanity".