(IPYS/IFEX) – On 15 March 2005, security guards at a public garbage dump in the town of Taubaté, São Paulo state, threatened and beat up Paulo Tarso Venceslau, director of “Contato” newspaper, and reporter Alan Brito after they tried to collect information regarding people that work and live illegally in the area, which is managed […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 15 March 2005, security guards at a public garbage dump in the town of Taubaté, São Paulo state, threatened and beat up Paulo Tarso Venceslau, director of “Contato” newspaper, and reporter Alan Brito after they tried to collect information regarding people that work and live illegally in the area, which is managed by City Hall.
Tarso said his paper tried to obtain official permission from City Hall to access the garbage dump for about 10 days, but the repeated requests were ignored. “We then decided to drive to the place, considering these illegal workers enter freely,” he explained. Once there, however, he and Brito ignored a guard’s warning not to enter the site, went inside and got photographs and interviews for their story.
Some time later, a group of guards surrounded the journalists. “We began to argue. They wanted us out, but we explained why we would not leave. Pretty soon, I was being beaten with punches and kicks,” Tarso said. “They said we could be killed there and no witness would ever come forward to confirm the murder. One of the guards tried to take Alan’s notepad and camera away,” he added.
Tarso and Brito filed a complaint and underwent physical examinations at the local police station. The National Federation of Journalists and the National Group of Brazilian Lawyers each expressed concern over the incident.
City Hall spokesman Carlos Alberto Silva said Tarso and Brito “did not have official permission to enter the garbage dump site. Although it is a public area, it requires very special care and is not open to everyone.” According to Silva, the violence resulted from “a misunderstanding between the journalists and the guards, who were only doing their jobs.” The mayor has authorised an official investigation.
The Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalists (ABRAJI) condemned what it described as the security guards’ “excessive use of force, especially considering the journalists were reporting on a case of public interest.”
