(IPYS/IFEX) – On 2 December 2006, photographer Lula Marques of the newspaper “Folha de S. Paulo” was assaulted by one of the President’s security guards when he was covering an official presentation by First Lady Marisa Leticia da Silva, in Brasilia. According to Marques, once the event was over, a group of journalists knocked down […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 2 December 2006, photographer Lula Marques of the newspaper “Folha de S. Paulo” was assaulted by one of the President’s security guards when he was covering an official presentation by First Lady Marisa Leticia da Silva, in Brasilia.
According to Marques, once the event was over, a group of journalists knocked down the railings surrounding the area where the event had taken place in order to approach the first lady. It was then that a security agent stopped the photographer and hit him between the shoulders. The camera’s flash was broken during the struggle that ensued.
The press secretary of the Institutional Security Cabinet (Gabinete de Seguridad Institucional), Homero José Zanotta Vieira, stated that the security guard’s reaction was normal as he was protecting the president and his family. The official stated that he will not punish the aggressor.
Marques did not file a complaint.
This alert was prepared by IPYS with information provided by the Brazilian Investigative Journalism Association (Associação Brasileira de Jornalismo Investigativo, ABRAJI).
