(IPYS/IFEX) – On the afternoon of 10 October 2005, John Jairo Bonilla García, a freelance photographer for “El Tiempo Café” newspaper, was hit on the head by a rock which rendered him unconscious. The cut required 12 stitches. The incident occurred in Pereira, Risaralda department, in western Colombia, while Bonilla was covering a demonstration by […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On the afternoon of 10 October 2005, John Jairo Bonilla García, a freelance photographer for “El Tiempo Café” newspaper, was hit on the head by a rock which rendered him unconscious. The cut required 12 stitches. The incident occurred in Pereira, Risaralda department, in western Colombia, while Bonilla was covering a demonstration by indigenous people protesting a proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement.
The 36-year-old photographer, who also works for Reuters and Agence France-Presse (AFP), was taken to the Santa Rosa de Cabal hospital where he remained under observation for 12 hours. His condition is now stable.
This is the second incident involving an “El Tiempo Café” photographer in Pereira. On 5 October, John Alexander Chica was assaulted by a policeman for taking photographs of a street vendor who was being mistreated by a number of police officers (see IFEX alert of 13 October 2005).
