Journalism organizations and freedom of expression groups in Argentina gathered May 24 to protest a violent attack against El Guardián photographer Julián Herr, who was taking photos of the Danish Embassy in Buenos Aires for a story, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) repots.
According to his father, Herr, 18, was attacked by two embassy security guards on May 20, even though he had permission to photograph the building’s exterior for a feature on dinning clubs attached to embassies, Diario Hoy explains.
Herr told RSF that the individuals from the embassy punched and head-butted his face, leaving him hospitalized with a broken nose and difficulty breathing. However, he was able to photograph the main aggressor. Periodistas en Español says that after being released from the hospital he filed a formal complaint with federal police.
The Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA) called on the authorities to punish those responsible, while RSF urged the Danish ambassador to publically denounce the attack and fire the private security company that employed the attackers.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
