Brazilian Veja magazine journalist Rodrigo Rangel was assaulted by his interviewee the afternoon of Aug, 4 in a restaurant in Brasilia, reported the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.
The incident was described in a letter to readers in the Aug, 6 edition, in which Veja said Rangel went to speak with lobbyist Júlio Fróes for an article about supposed corruption and influence peddling in the Ministry of Agriculture. The two spoke for about half an hour when Fróes lost control and began kicking and beating the reporter.
The lobbyist also threatened Rangel and tool his notebook. The scene was witnessed by several people, and a complaint was filed with the police department. The journalist received medical attention, and is fine.
The Union of Professional Journalists of the Federal District, the National Association of Newspapers, and the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji) condemned the attacked and called for a quick response from authorities.
In another attack against journalists in Brazil, a television team for EPTV, the Rede Globo affiliate, also was harrassed during an interview, reported Jornal Floripa.
Francisco de Lagos, an ex-city official in Campiñas accused of hindering investigations into bid rigging, took away the microphone of a hournalist trying to interview him, and pushed a cameraman.
