Dozens of photographers gathered outside Argentina's on Friday to protest being targeted by police when they are reporting on public protests and events.
The group gathered just days after photojournalists Bernardino Ávila and Juan Pablo Barrientos from the Página 12 newspaper and Revista Crítica magazine, respectively, were detained during a protest.
"It's not a crime to take photos", was the theme of the event. The photographers were joined by lawmakers, human rights representatives and union leaders.
"The press should be able to operate freely", Barrientos told the crowd. He was arrested Wednesday alongside Ávila at a protest led by recently sacked workers.
Ávila also spoke. "I've been accused of hitting a police officer and the only thing I did was to defend a colleague because I saw they were about to pounce on him and hit him", he said.
The photographers and their supporters were prohibited from using the press room inside Congress.
"They've closed off the Congress. This is a clear expression that we cannot carry out our jobs. We have to be out here blocking pedestrians", Ávila added.
Kirchnerites lawmaker Leopoldo Moreau blamed the Macri government for the attacks on , saying "this government wants to hide reality".
-TIMES/PERFIL
Comments