Journalists asked the Chilean Attorney General Office to investigate attacks on reporters during the on-going protests in the South American country, reported Prensa.com.
The Chilean Journalists Association and the Union of Ibero-American Radio Holdings Workers expressed their concern over the violence against journalists and asked for a prosecutor to be appointed to expedite the investigations, according to the radio station ADN.
The organizations cited aggressions against and the imprisonment of reporter Esteban Sánchez from Rádio ADN, who was covering a protest against a tribute to an ex-member of the military dictatorship on Nov. 21. According to the organizations, the episode demonstrated "a systematic practice inciting incidents between the population and police forces."
The Journalists Association said, "these situations have an impact not only on the physical well-being of journalists but also on the fundamental values of democracy that are inherent in journalism, freedom of expression, and the right to varied and diverse sources of information."
Since the beginning of the student protests in Chile, press workers have suffered attacks, arbitrary detention, and damage to their equipment.
