(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders condemns an attack on photographer Fabiano Rocha of the Rio de Janeiro daily “Extra” on 11 March 2009, while he was preparing a report on the poor state of the roads in the Rio de Janeiro suburb of São Gonçalo. Rocha was photographing the street where Mayor Aparecida Panisset lives […]
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders condemns an attack on photographer Fabiano Rocha of the Rio de Janeiro daily “Extra” on 11 March 2009, while he was preparing a report on the poor state of the roads in the Rio de Janeiro suburb of São Gonçalo. Rocha was photographing the street where Mayor Aparecida Panisset lives (which is well maintained), when he was accosted by the bodyguards of the mayor’s brother, Márcio Panisset, who took his camera from him.
Statements condemning the incident have been issued by many organisations including the Union of Rio de Janeiro Professional Journalists, the National Federation of Journalists (Fenaj) and the Brazilian Press Association (ABI), which have called for sanctions. The mayor has apologised for his brother’s behaviour. A total of 130 complaints have been filed against the São Gonçalo municipal government since the mayor’s re-election last year.
