Fellow journalist Giselle Khoury, wife of the martyr Samir Kassir, died at dawn today at the American University Hospital - Beirut after a struggle with cancer.

After the assassination of her husband, journalist and historian Samir Kassir, on June 2, 2005, the late woman launched a foundation bearing his name on February 1, 2006, transforming it into one of the most prominent regional institutions specialized in monitoring violations against media and cultural freedoms in the Arab Levant, and supporting independent media voices. In Lebanon and the countries of the Middle East and North Africa.

She took the issue of press freedom to global forums, urging the European Union to launch the Samir Kassir Prize for Press Freedom in 2006. She was elected as a member of the Board of Directors of the World Forum for Media Development between 2016 and 2020, and a member of the jury of the Guillermo Cano Prize for Press Freedom awarded by UNESCO. She received the French Order of Arts and Letters, rank of officer, in 2012, and the French Legion of Honor, rank of Knight, in 2019.

Khoury’s professional career began in 1986 at the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, and she hosted the most prominent Arab and international political and cultural figures on her program “The Dialogue of a Lifetime” between 1992 and 2001, before joining the MBC group in 2002 and contributing to the launch of the “Al Arabiya” channel. She presented the “Bel Arabi” program between 2003 and 2013.

The deceased moved to the BBC Arabic channel in 2013, where she interviewed senior leaders and thinkers about pivotal moments in contemporary history within the “Al-Mashhad” program, and then to the “Sky News Arabia” channel, in 2020, with the “With Giselle” program, which It represented a turning point in the form, rhythm, and diversity of talk shows. She wrote and produced documentaries about prominent Arab political figures, and founded the “Rawi” documentary production company alongside journalist and ambassador Sahar Baasiri.