The journalist said that not only was she verbally and physically assaulted, but her assailants also threatened to rape her if they came across her alone somewhere else.
(C-Libre/IFEX) – On 24 September 2009, Janina Romero, a journalist for the Canal 39 television station, reported that she was assaulted by members of the National Resistance against the Coup d’ État when she covering a demonstration in the Barandillas neighbourhood of San Pedro Sula.
The journalist told C-Libre and the Public Prosecutor’s Office that she was assaulted soon after interviewing one of the resistance group’s leaders. She said that, after she finished the interview, members of the group started yelling at her and told her to leave. They also tried to take her microphone from her. The journalist believes that her assailants were former municipal employees who belong to the Liberal Party.
“They hit me in the face and the back. Their intention was to remove my clothes and make me walk outside naked,” Romero said. She also said that, in addition to verbally and physically assaulting her, her assailants threatened to rape her if they came across her alone somewhere else.
“Resistance lawyers have called me to ask me to refrain from filing a complaint. I am not, however, denouncing the Resistance but rather the violation of my freedom of expression and basic human rights and the threat against me,” Romero said.
The journalist noted that she has covered many demonstrations put on by the Resistance and that they know who she is.
Canal 39 is a Christian television station belonging to the La Cosecha church. It has been in operation for seven years.
