Italy: CFWIJ Condemns The Violent Physical Assault On Carmen La Gatta
Location: Italy
Date: April 19, 2021
Carmen La Gatta, a correspondent for the Rete 4 show, “Fuori dal Coro” was covering an assignment when she and her crew was attacked by a violent man on April 11. Camren was reporting from the illegally occupied houses in the north-western city of Cuneo. As a result of this violent assault, Carmen sustained injuries on her wrist and was hospitalized. CFWIJ offers solidarity to Carmin and her media team. We also demand that the law enforcement in Cuneo brought the attacker to the court of justice and put him behind the bars.
Carmen was interviewing a woman in the surrounding area when she and her crew were confronted by an assailant. The man was extremely aggressive towards the media team consisting of Carmen and two operators. They ran here and there while engaging with him and took refuge in their car. But the violent man followed the crew and kept on them and later he smashed the car windows.
Carmen received injuries on her hands and face because of the shattered glass of the car window. A video available on the internet shows the man with a swinging chain in his hands threatening the media crew. Several times he attacked the media crew with the iron chain and kept on chasing them until police arrived at the scene. According to the witnesses of the incident, the man first tried to break the glass window by punching it hard and then he used the chain with a padlock. The National Federation of the Italian Press (FNSI) has condemned the incident. The editorial board of Video news Mediaset also expressed their anger over the unfortunate incident and wished Carmen and speedy recovery.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism highly condemns the violent attack on Carmen La Gatta and her media team. We demand that Law enforcement authorities in Cuneo serve justice to set an example. We commend Carmen and her media crew for their brave reporting and wish them a speedy recovery.
The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.
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