(IPYS/IFEX) – On 14 March 2005, a group of police officers, equipped with anti-riot gear, assaulted Edwin Benavente, a reporter for the daily “Nuestro Diario”, as he was covering riots that erupted in Guatemala City during protests against a free trade agreement. The incident took place during a violent confrontation between rioters, who were throwing […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 14 March 2005, a group of police officers, equipped with anti-riot gear, assaulted Edwin Benavente, a reporter for the daily “Nuestro Diario”, as he was covering riots that erupted in Guatemala City during protests against a free trade agreement.
The incident took place during a violent confrontation between rioters, who were throwing stones, and police, who responded by firing tear gas and rubber bullets. According to Benavente, a group of police officers surrounded a protester and began to beat him. “When they realised I was photographing them, one of [the officers] came up to me and pushed me back roughly with his shield,” Benavente said. The photographer, who had fallen to the ground, got up and struck the officer in the face. Several police officers then attempted to seize his identification and camera, and one of them threatened to lob a tear gas canister at him. During the struggle, Benavente was struck repeatedly.
Other journalists who were in the vicinity intervened and managed to free Benavente. The journalist intends to file a complaint with the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office
