A TV reporter was wounded in the face after police fired tear gas while he was covering a teachers' protest in Tegucigalpa, the capital, Hora Cero reports. See this summary in English by Reporters Without Borders.
Journalist Richard Casulá and cameraman Salvador Sandoval, of Cholusat Sur, were covering a police operation at a teachers' college when a group of agents fired canisters of tear gas at point-blank range. Sandoval's nose was broken, and Casulá suffered gas poisoning. The two were transported to a local hospital, Revistazo.com says.
The aggression occurred only a few days after police fired tear gas at another crew from Cholusat Sur on March 21 under similar circumstances. Cholusat Sur opposed the coup of 2009 and has been a constant critic of the government since then.
“These repeated abuses by the security forces against news media opposed to the June 2009 coup d’état – which left still unhealed wounds – are aggravating an oppressive political climate that is not conducive to pluralism,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The authorities need to give some evidence of a readiness to honour their international obligations.”
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.
