(IPYS/IFEX) – On 17 September 2004, a group of protesters assaulted camera operator Alberto Almao and his assistant, Víctor Henríquez, in Caracas. Almao and Henríquez, who work for Globovisión television station, were covering a demonstration by employees of Misión Ribas, a government-sponsored education programme. The Misión Ribas employees were demanding payment of wages owed to […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 17 September 2004, a group of protesters assaulted camera operator Alberto Almao and his assistant, Víctor Henríquez, in Caracas. Almao and Henríquez, who work for Globovisión television station, were covering a demonstration by employees of Misión Ribas, a government-sponsored education programme. The Misión Ribas employees were demanding payment of wages owed to them.
Almao told IPYS that he and Henríquez were filming the demonstration from inside their vehicle when the demonstrators surrounded and began to insult them, while striking and kicking their vehicle.
One of the demonstrators tried unsuccessfully to seize Almao’s camera. The protesters managed to open the back door of the vehicle and took a bag containing recording equipment, including microphones and camera batteries. A fire cracker was also thrown at the vehicle, damaging the fender and breaking two windows. Almao required stitches after receiving cuts on his knee from the glass and one of Henríquez’s legs was also injured by glass shards.
After hearing the explosions, National Guard officers came to the Globovisión employees’ aid, dispersing the attackers and allowing Almao and Henríquez to leave the area.
