Prime Minister's Office of Spain

09/30/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/01/2024 09:27

The President of the Government stresses the importance of protecting the free press to defend democracy with the force of reason and law

The President of the Government stresses the importance of protecting the free press to defend democracy with the force of reason and law

President's News - 2024.9.30

Pedro Sánchez closed the Vanguardia 2024 Awards ceremony on Monday, where he thanked the newspaper La Vanguardia for its role as a "benchmark for quality journalism", stressing the importance of protecting a free press committed to the truth to defend democracy through the power of reason and law.

Barcelona

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, at the Vanguardia 2024 Awards ceremony (Borja Puig)

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"We must unequivocally take sides when it comes to protecting the free press and its professionals against the armies of bots and harassers," said the chief executive, who was accompanied by the second vice-president and Minister for Work and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz; the Minister for Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, and the president of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Salvador Illa.

The Vanguardia 2024 Awards have distinguished the careers of leading personalities in all areas of society: Gabriel Escarré (Entrepreneur of the Year), Mateo Valero (Innovation and Science), Pau Relat (Impulse Cities), Eduardo Mendoza (Culture), Audrey Auzolay (Sustainability), Joan Oro (In Memoriam), and Yulia Navalnaya (International).

The latter, widow of the Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalni, received the prize from the President of the Government, who expressed his express support for her activist work in favour of human rights: "Your activism gives voice to the enduring memory of a brave man like your husband and to the future of a democratic Russia that will sooner or later come into its own.

A week before the first anniversary of the start of the conflict in Gaza, the head of the Government of Spain stressed that Spain will continue to fight to end the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, working through diplomatic channels and respect for international law. "Our commitment to peace is and will continue to be unwavering; and if the international community is entrenched in silence, our voice will be heard even louder in defence of international legality and peace," said Pedro Sánchez.

Non official translation