(IPYS/IFEX) – On 31 January 2009, journalist Adriana Ciccalione and photographer Jairo Nieto, of the newspaper “El Impulso”, were threatened by an individual who, they were told, is the relative of a young man who died in the Las Veritas neighbourhood located north of the town of Barquisimeto in central Venezuela. Ciccalione had just arrived […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 31 January 2009, journalist Adriana Ciccalione and photographer Jairo Nieto, of the newspaper “El Impulso”, were threatened by an individual who, they were told, is the relative of a young man who died in the Las Veritas neighbourhood located north of the town of Barquisimeto in central Venezuela.
Ciccalione had just arrived in the region when an unidentified man in civilian clothes approached her, threatening both her and Nieto to stop them from reporting on the case. The man also attempted to break Nieto’s camera.
The reporters returned to their car as a safety measure. The unknown man followed them and continued to threaten them.
The news item on the young man’s death was published without a byline in order to avoid reprisals.
Local residents told the reporters that the man works for the Department for Scientific, Penal and Criminal Investigations (Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas Penales y Criminalísticas) but the journalists could not corroborate this information.
