By Isabela Fraga
Venezuelan journalist from the TV station Venezoelana de Televisión reported being attacked by supporters of presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, reported the National Union of Venezuelan Journalists.
A correspondent for the TV channel of the state of Guárico, journalist Giovanina Guilén said that Capriles' supporters tried to take the camera of the photojournalist who accompanied her while they were covering an activity by the candidate's campaign, reported Espacio Público.
According to the journalist, they were attacked on Thursday, July 26, when Capriles was campaigning door to door in the town of Las Marcelas, in Guárico, reported the news site Noticias Diarias. The reporter also said that this was the third time that the candidate's supporters have attacked her during the presidential campaign, preventing her from interviewing Capriles.
With the presidential elections in Venezuela just two months away, tensions between candidates and the press have increased. Recently, the TV station Globovisión was fined $5.6 million by the government for covering a prison conflict. The World Association of Newspapers and News Editors also warned that violence against journalists and censorship can undermine the role of the press during this pre-election period.
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.
