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#AssassinationWitness MEDIA KIT

The purpose of this document is to collect all launch material related to the #AssassinationWitness campaign and landmark book "Faces of Assassination" launched virtually on Monday, 15 June 2020.

Background:

In the years the Global Initiative has spent documenting and researching the criminal ecosystem, we have seen that, increasingly, criminal groups around the world are targeting those whom we can broadly categorize as civil society – people who choose to make social justice and the promotion of equality their life’s work.

Such individuals are being assassinated because theirs are goals and aspirations and missions that confront and challenge the power, authority and local legitimacy of criminal interests the world over.

This book assembles 50 profiles of those who have been assassinated by criminal groups since the start of the millennium. It is a compilation of men and women who have been murdered because they – like the examples given above – confronted, weakened or threatened criminal groups.

The publication is a springboard for a project that will continue to increase public awareness of the assassination of civil-society figures by the forces of organized crime worldwide and ensure the sacrifice made by those who are lost to targeted killings is never forgotten.

Can we help each other?

Our aim is to draw public attention to the fact that, across the world, those who stand up for transparency and seek to maintain public integrity are facing a grave threat of violence.

It is essential that we work to support civil society, activists, journalists and others who may be at risk.

Read the #AssassinationWitness partnership flyer:

Press release

We welcome interest from journalists and media organisations to cover our campaign in the news.

If you want to read the press release, please click the button below.

Online publication

From June 15th, the book will be downloadable at assassination.globalinitiative.net

If you want to find out more, you can request an embargoed copy of the e-book below.

Following the launch, we will accept requests to receive a paperback version of the book, through the dedicated form on assassination.globalinitiative.net

Video

This video has been produced to deliver an effective overview of the project and the contents of the book.

Feel free to share the video on your social media channels. Use the #AssassinationWitness hashtag to promote the content and help us to better collate metrics.

Podcast

When available, you will find on the dedicated website and other streaming platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Tune In, and more.

Imagery

We dedicated a social media card to each story featured in the book.

You are encouraged to share the stories we featured, to pay tribute to lives lost and bear witness to the victims of organized crime.

Email release

Emails will be sent to our dedicated distribution list, covering both pre-launch and post-launch moments, featuring progress and important updates of the #AssassinationWitness campaign.

By subscribing to the dedicated newsletter, you'll receive regular updates about the campaign's progress and news on how to get involved, as well as a way to participate in our launch event on June 15th.

Resource library

During the development of the book, as well as during our previous researches on criminal assassinations, we reviewed several documents and researches, involving different research teams.

Our aim is to curate selected resources into a open resource library that will be available on the project's page. These resources will be continually updated over time.

Twitter release

@gi_toc #assassinationwitness

Pre-prepared tweets for the document launch

You are encouraged to share our campaign's contents on your social media channels.

GI-TOC asks that we all recognize that #organizedcrime undermines the integrity, tenacity and principles of those who have stood against it, and paid with their lives. #assassinationwitness www.assassination.globalinitiative.net
Coming from different backgrounds and locations, victims' aims are one in freeing their communities and societies from the corroding influence of #organizedcrime actors. #assassinationwitness www.assassination.globalinitiative.net
Targeted religious killings in Nigeria, mayoral murders in Mexico, and assassinations of journalists across Latin America are some examples of highly specific forms of assassinations that have emerged as regional trends. #assassinationwitness www.assassination.globalinitiative.net
Environmental defenders and activists are among those most frequently targeted for criminal assassination. Estimates show as many as 1558 people in 50 countries were killed for protecting their environment between 2002 and 2017. #assassinationwitness www.assassination.globalinitiative.net
Targeted killings are a criminal attempt to coerce and control, ultimately a way to exercise criminal governance. #assassinationwitness www.assassination.globalinitiative.net
Can the negative consequences of assassinations be a force for positive change? Remembering the sacrifices made and lives lost may serve to galvanize communities, sustain resilience and fuel hope. #assassinationwitness www.assassination.globalinitiative.net
After years of bearing witness to the great impact of assassinations, this book assembles 50 profiles of men and women who have been killed by criminal groups since the start of the millennium. #assassinationwitness www.assassination.globalinitiative.net

Twitter Thread:

Use this image in the first tweet with the following text:

Raising awareness of the number of assassinations globally exposes wider societal ills that bring about weaponized violence in the first place. @gi_toc #assassinationwitness www.assassination.globalinitiative.net

The global community must pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the fight against #organizedcrime. @gi_toc #assassinationwitness www.assassination.globalinitiative.net

Brave men and women continue to confront #organizedcrime around the world. @gi_toc supports those who stand up for transparency and public integrity in the face of violence. #assassinationwitness www.assassination.globalinitiative.net

By shedding a spotlight on assassinations, @gi_toc will continue to monitor these killings to support investigations of cases and bring those responsible to justice. #assassinationwitness www.assassination.globalinitiative.net

The @gi_toc joins forces with other civil society organisations to raise awarenes of these killings and promote a driving force for positive change. #assassinationwitness www.assassination.globalinitiative.net

Credits:

Creato con immagini di Webaroo - "untitled image" • Zaini Izzuddin - "untitled image"