By Maira Magro
A crew for RBS TV, an affiliate of TV Globo in the southern state of Santa Catarina, was attacked and threatened Jan. 6 in the city of Indaial, while investigating charges against five business people accused of boycotting wholesalers in the neighboring city of Brusque, Globo reports.
The team, which included a reporter, cameraman, and one assistant, was allegedly ambushed in a mall parking lot by one of its owners, his son, and a security guard, Diário Catarinense reports. Journalist Francis Silvy took a blow to the face, while the team was threatened with a gun. The attackers also broke the back window of the team’s car.
The Santa Catarina Press Association released a statement condemning the attack, which it called “unjustifiable.”
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.
