United Nations: Citing the murder of Indian journalist Karun Misra, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said every time a journalist is killed anywhere in the world and the press is silenced, the rule of law and democracy get weaker.

"Across the global agenda, the media are critical. Yet journalists face growing efforts to silence their voices through harassment, censorship and attacks. Journalists are not criminals. But they are often mistreated or even killed because they have the courage to expose criminal acts," Ban said in his remarks upon receiving the German Media Prize in Baden Baden in southwestern Germany yesterday.