IACHR Rapporteurship asks to guarantee freedom of the press in the face of attacks on journalists

Given the attacks on journalists during the culmination of the civic strike, the special rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Pedro Vaca, asked to guarantee the freedom of the press and avoid police abuse.

“I am receiving reports of severe attacks on the press in Bolivia attributed to police deployment. I call on the authorities to give public instructions to their agents on the duty to guarantee freedom of the press, peaceful assembly and association, ”she wrote on his Twitter account.

This pronouncement is given after the cameraman José Enrique Tarqui, from the media outlet Periodismo Somos Todos, was shot, apparently from pellets, at close range by a police officer.

The press worker was quickly helped to a hospital, where he was intervened by medical specialists who five pellets were removed from the abdominal part.

The Unitel press team that was covering the events from Cañada Strongest street, a few meters from the Comité pro Santa Cruz, also suffered an attack. As reflected in the recording of that channel, a uniformed man is observed on a motorcycle that shoots, at a distance of a few meters, against the humanity of Roger Ramos and his cameraman.

The journalistic union has denounced other attacks during this day. Harold Salvatierra, an independent radio journalist, denounced the burning of his vehicle, which was located next to the Police Departmental Command.