(IPYS/IFEX) – On 1 May 2003, Juan Carlos Amado, a camera operator for the non-governmental research organisation COTRAIN (Comunidad de Trabajos de Investigación), was physically assaulted while filming a demonstration. Amado told IPYS that he was in Plaza O’Leary, in downtown Caracas, filming a march organised by the Venezuelan Workers Confederation (Confederación de Trabajadores de […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 1 May 2003, Juan Carlos Amado, a camera operator for the non-governmental research organisation COTRAIN (Comunidad de Trabajos de Investigación), was physically assaulted while filming a demonstration.
Amado told IPYS that he was in Plaza O’Leary, in downtown Caracas, filming a march organised by the Venezuelan Workers Confederation (Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela) and other opposition organisations to celebrate May Day.
A confrontation broke out near the square. Gunshots were fired and one person was killed. Those present were enraged and began looking for the person responsible for the shooting. Amado followed close behind the angry mob.
“There were a lot of people shouting slogans condemning the killer. Suddenly, one person said that I was from the alternative press and a supporter of President Chávez,” Amado said. The mob reportedly seized his camera and case and the cassette on which he had recorded footage of the earlier confrontation and of the person who had been killed. The crowd then threw him to the ground and punched and kicked him, breaking his nose.
Someone intervened to try to calm down the assailants. Amado was then able to get out his credentials, which identified him as a representative of COTRAIN, an independent audiovisual production company.
Amado underwent surgery for the injuries to his nose. He is currently out of danger, and is recuperating.
The case was reported to the Scientific and Criminal Investigations Unit (Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas, CICPC), which has launched an investigation in order to identify the assailants. Amado said he also plans to present the case to the Ombudsman’s Office and the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Amado recognised the person who accused him of being a Chávez supporter. The individual is presumably a supporter of the Primero Justicia opposition party and was implicated in another attack on Amado in 2002. At that time, Amado was filming a confrontation between Primero Justicia members and President Chávez’s supporters.
COTRAIN is an independent organisation that has worked in Venezuela for 30 years producing documentaries. It also offers instruction in film, photography and audiovisual production. The organisation is currently putting together an audiovisual historical archive and is recording images of political, cultural and other events in Caracas.
