Journalist Luis Orlando Fernández told FOPEA that an attack on his house was probably linked to his assisting a news crew that was in the area doing a report on water shortages in Formosa province.
The Foro de Periodismo Argentino (FOPEA) condemns an attack on the home of Luis Orlando Fernández, owner of FM Libertad in Ibarreta, Formosa. The firebomb attack took place early in the morning on 31 August 2013 on the journalist’s home, which also functions as the radio station. At the time of the attack the station was not on the air.
Fernández and his wife were sleeping and were not injured in the attack. The home was not seriously damaged because the projectile (a bottle filled with gas) struck an exterior wall and not the wooden door. The day after the attack the radio station was on air as usual.
Fernández told FOPEA that the attack was probably connected to collaboration with the series called Periodismo Para Todos, on Canal 13. A news crew for the series was in the area doing a report on water shortages in the province.
FOPEA hopes that the judiciary will identify and punish those responsible for the attack on Fernández. The organisation also calls on the provincial authorities to condemn the attack on FM Libertad and take a stand in support of free expression.
