"The Coalition in Defense of Journalism repudiates and calls for an investigation into the actions of the Legislative Police of the Federal District last Thursday, April 10, when police officers violently repressed a peaceful demonstration by Indigenous people, which was being followed by journalists and communicators.
It was an action by the Acampamento Terra Livre (ATL), which was heading towards the National Congress. The protesters and journalists were attacked when they arrived at the lawn of Praça dos Três Poderes.
Journalists and organizers of the march say that at no point were protesters given instructions not to go to the square's grass. The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib, for its initials in Portuguese) considered the police operation an ambush.
The Coalition in Defense of Journalism stands in solidarity with the Indigenous people, communicators and journalists who have been attacked. It is important that this situation be clarified and that the Legislative Police's procedures be reviewed."
