By Liliana Honorato
On Tuesday, June 5, Argentine journalists were attacked by a gang that identifies itself as supporters of Governor Jesús Cariglino while they were trying to cover an alleged malpractice case in the city hospital of Pablo Nogués in Malvinas Argentinas of the province of Buenos Aires, reported the newspaper La Voz.
According to Agencia de Noticias Télam, the hooded gang beat the reporters and stole their equipment. They beat the news editor of the newspaper Crónica and a photographer of the newspaper Tiempo Argentino, Mariano Vega, whose camera was also destroyed.
This happened only four days after protesters attacked a team of reporters for the second time in 10 days. Journalist organizations like the Inter American Press Association, the Argentine Journalistic Entities Association, and the Argentine Journalism Forum expressed outrage at the series of attacks against journalists.
Also, because the Day of the Journalist is celebrated in Argentina on Thursday, June 7, the Argentina Federation of Press Workers (FATPREN in Spanish) called out to all press workers to participate in a commemoration celebrating their day at the same corner where “the colleagues of 678 were savagely attacked” on Friday, June 1, reported Télam. "We will unite to demand justice and strongly say to those who are always intolerant that we want to do our work with out having to suffer from verbal attacks nor physical violence," said FATPREN in a statement.
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.
