El Imparcial newspaper reports that one of its photographers, Julián Ortega, was threatened and assaulted by officers searching for shooters who had killed a pair of police moments earlier.
Ortega was in the city of Hermosillo, Sonora and approximately 65 feet from the incident, when he was approached by three police. “One of them told me I was hindering their work and another grabbed my neck, while a third took my cameras,” he said, quoted by Milenio.
Media workers and colleagues of the photographer protested in front of the state capital and demanded more security and protection for journalists, El Universal explains. Ortega announced that he would file a formal complaint against the officers involved, Uniradio Noticias adds.
Mexico, where drug trafficking-violence has led to more than 34,000 deaths over the last four years, has become of the most dangerous countries in the world to practice journalism. For more details about violence against the media in Mexico, see this Knight Center map.
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.
