By Leo Cardoso
More than ten journalists were robbed in the first week of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The South African government urged tourists not to leave belongings in hotels, but journalists are easy targets because they carry valuable equipment.
On Thursday, June 17, four Brazilian journalists - three from Folha de S. Paulo and one from Terra - had belongings stolen from safes at the hotel where they were staying in Johannesburg.
Last week, two Portuguese reporters and one Spanish reporter were assaulted by armed men inside a hotel in Magaliesburg. The thieves were sentenced to 15 years in prison, reported Estadão. The next day, four Chinese journalists were robbed at gunpoint while traveling in a car after a news conference. A television team from New Zealand's TVNZ had about $70,000 in equipment stolen in Rustemburgo.
The World Cup Local Organizing Committee South Africa denied the existence of security problems. The government shifted 40,000 police officers, 20% of the country's force, to ensure safety for the event, according to Terra.
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.
