A group of demonstrators threatened and beat three Mexican journalists from the newspaper Noticias, Voz e Imagen de Oaxaca after invading the newspaper's offices in the city of Oaxaca, in Southeastern Mexico, and painting the newspaper's facade with anti-press slogans, reported the National Center of Social Communication (CENCOS).
The reporters, Ismael García, Luis Ignacio Velásquez and Citlalli López were attacked when they tried to record and take photos of the incident, June 2, according to Noticiasnet. López blamed the teachers union for the aggression, and said that one day later, three individuals in a car with tinted windows made threatening gestures at him when he was walking on the street with his family, according to Ciudadanía Express.
According to the report, the teachers were protesting articles in the newspaper about recent union mobilizations. Among the slogans painted on the wall were "You have forgotten dignity," and "Sold press."
The Journalists Association of Oaxaca (APO in Spanish) and the National Union of Press Editors organized a march on Tuesday, Jun 7, to protest the aggression against Noticias, Voz e Imagen de Oaxaca and demand respect for freedom of expression and an end to attacks against journalists, reported Radio Fórmula and E-Oaxaca.
Freedom of expression organizations Article 19 and CENCOS noted that in 2006 and 2007, Oaxaca was the state with the most aggression against journalists perpetrated by persons supposedly linked to political groups or social movements, reported IFEX.
See here a video from Noticiasnet about the jounalists' march.
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.
