Manuel Isidro Molina believes the attack may have been prompted by his reports on alleged acts of corruption by government officials and their accomplices.
(IPYS-Venezuela/IFEX) – On 12 May 2011, journalist Manuel Isidro Molina, editor and owner of the digital newspaper Enfoque365.net and columnist of the weekly paper “La Razón”, was assaulted by an unidentified man. Molina believes the attack may have been prompted by an article he wrote which included accusations of corruption. The incident occurred in the capital city, Caracas.
Molina, who is also part of the leadership of the National Journalists Association, was in a shopping center renewing his passport when the man struck him in the face with a helmet, threw him to the floor and continued to hit and kick him. The journalist shouted for help and the man fled. The assailant made no attempt to take any of Molina’s belongings nor did they say anything about the motives for his attack. The journalist had a swollen eye and bruises on several parts of his body. He received stitches over one eyebrow.
Molina, who denounced the attack to the Prosecutor General’s Office, believes this may have been prompted by his reports on alleged acts of corruption committed by government officials and their accomplices in his column “Pasando la Hoja” published by “La Razón” and Enfoque365.net.