(IPYS/IFEX) – On 9 July 2006, journalists Óscar Martínez, Carlos Furman and Marcos Silvan were assaulted while covering a public celebration of Independence Day in Santa Elena, located in Entre Ríos province in northeastern Argentina. The assailants, identified as supporters of the local mayor, Domingo Daniel Rossi, beat the journalists as well as others in […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 9 July 2006, journalists Óscar Martínez, Carlos Furman and Marcos Silvan were assaulted while covering a public celebration of Independence Day in Santa Elena, located in Entre Ríos province in northeastern Argentina. The assailants, identified as supporters of the local mayor, Domingo Daniel Rossi, beat the journalists as well as others in the crowd who protested Rossi’s presence at the event.
Martínez, of the radio station LT 40, Silvan, of the radio station Exclusiva, and Furman, of the FM station 2 de Octubre, filed a complaint with the city’s police department. According to local witnesses, the police present at the event made no effort to intervene when the assault took place.
In June, Furman was assaulted by a supporter of Rossi, after he had criticised the mayor’s performance. A few days later, unidentified persons fired three gunshots into Furman’s house (see IFEX alert of 14 June 2006). That month, Rossi was prohibited from assuming public office for a period of eight years and was sentenced to three years in prison for embezzlement; nonetheless, he continues in his role as mayor.
