A total of 153 journalists were attacked during the coverage of the anti-government protests that began last December 7, most of them in Lima, this was denounced by the Peruvian National Association of Journalists (ANP) on February 6th, in all cases, the aggressors were police agents or members of the armed forces.
Data collected by the ANP’s Journalists’ Human Rights Office show that attacks on journalists totaled 94 in January and reveal that “the greatest number have been concentrated in Lima and that the most frequent aggressors were police officers“.
The association highlighted that among the most serious incidents was the “death threat by police officers against EFE photojournalist Aldair Mejía in Juliaca (department of Puno) on January 7“.
“In this case, hours later, the photojournalist was hit by a pellet shot in the right leg, causing a bone fracture,” according to the first medical report.
It also highlighted the detention of four regional communicators from the southern region of Puno during the police raid on the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos de Lima, who was released 30 hours later, as well as the aggression against the journalistic team of the Wayka.pe portal, whom “police agents not only physically assaulted, but also stripped them of their work equipment“.
In addition, the ANP highlighted the “hostile aggression” of which a team of journalists from América Televisión was victim, when “vandals boarded inside” their vehicle, throwing stones at them and causing one of them to lose two teeth.
Another case was the theft of a microphone and the prevention of coverage of a reporter from the radio station RPP and the case of a video reporter from the newspaper La República, who was attacked “with sticks, stones and beaten on the ground to then demand that he unlock his cell phone to show what he had recorded“.
Since the start of the social mobilizations on December 7, 66 people have lost their lives in direct confrontations between demonstrators and the forces of law and order or due to events related to the protests.
The demonstrators demand the resignation of the president, Dina Boluarte, the closing of Congress, an early election for 2023, and the calling of a constituent assembly.
TYT Newsroom
