(IPYS/IFEX) – On 11 August 2004, Spanish photographer Eduard Giménez was attacked while photographing a political rally organised by opponents of President Hugo Chávez’s government. The incident took place at the Plaza Bolívar, in central Caracas. Giménez was covering an event organised by an opposition group named Mujeres por el Sí. Government supporters arrived and […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 11 August 2004, Spanish photographer Eduard Giménez was attacked while photographing a political rally organised by opponents of President Hugo Chávez’s government. The incident took place at the Plaza Bolívar, in central Caracas.
Giménez was covering an event organised by an opposition group named Mujeres por el Sí. Government supporters arrived and started shouting pro-Chávez slogans, while individuals wearing red shirts appeared at different locations around the plaza.
When Giménez tried to take photographs of what was happening, he was struck by an unidentified woman and a man wearing a red shirt, whose face was covered. He was then dragged to a motorcycle driven by a third individual, whose face was also covered. He was forced onto the motorcycle and driven away from the plaza.
Members of the National Guard pursued the motorcycle to rescue the photographer. The chase ended a few blocks from the plaza when Giménez fell off the motorcycle.
The photographer, who entered the country as a tourist, was taken to National Electoral Council (Consejo Nacional Electoral) offices to receive first aid treatment, and then to the Rescarven clinic in southern Caracas. The extent of his injuries is not known. Giménez was apparently in the country taking photographs for “L’Accent”, a publication based in Barcelona, Spain.
