In a letter to the Prime Minister expressing outrage at the murder, WAN and the WEF said: "We respectfully call on you to ensure that a thorough and transparent investigation is held into the murder of Dusko Javanovic and that those responsible are swiftly brought to justice. We urge you to do everything possible to create an environment in which journalists are able to carry out their duties without fear of violence."

Mr Jovanovic was publisher and editor-in-chief of the opposition daily Dan. He was killed on 28 May as he was leaving his office in the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica.

The murder and the protest were announced to the more than 1,300 publishers, chief editors and other senior newspaper executives attending the World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forum in Istanbul, Turkey. One of the scheduled presenters at the Congress, Zeljko Ivanovic, the director of the Vijesti newspaper in Serbia and Montenegro, cancelled his appearance because of the murder of his colleague.

The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom world-wide. It represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 72 national newspaper associations, individual newspaper executives in 102 countries, 13 news agencies and ten regional and world-wide press groups.

The WEF is the organisation for editors within the World Association of Newspapers.

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, 75005 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr.