(IPYS/IFEX) – On 5 December 2006, freelance journalist Wilmar Taychihua was shot in the head while he was covering a confrontation between demonstrators and the National Police in the city of Abancay, southeastern Peru. The demonstrators were attempting to storm the headquarters of Apurímac’s regional government when the police opened fire. The bullet that hit […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 5 December 2006, freelance journalist Wilmar Taychihua was shot in the head while he was covering a confrontation between demonstrators and the National Police in the city of Abancay, southeastern Peru. The demonstrators were attempting to storm the headquarters of Apurímac’s regional government when the police opened fire. The bullet that hit Taychihua entered his skull and came out through his mouth. The reporter was evacuated to Cusco’s regional hospital and it is expected that he will be transferred to Lima due to the seriousness of his condition.
The second injured journalist was Eloy Martínez of Channel 13’s programme “En Directo”. A teargas bomb thrown by the police hit him on the right leg.
According to Minister of the Interior Pilar Mazzetti, there were more than 50 wounded during the confrontation, four of them shot. The minister stated that the police needed to use firearms in order to stop the violence.
