Then An unprecedented escalation of violence against journalists in MexicoHaiti is now emerging as the second most dangerous country for the press in Latin America.
Reporter Romelson Vilcin was the sixth dead in the country in 2022. On Sunday (30), a tear gas bullet was hit in the head during a protest in front of a police station in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.
His death occurred on the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, celebrated on November 2. History is recognized by the United Nations, which annually reaffirms its commitment to the defense of the press by asking world authorities to investigate cases involving media professionals.
Journalists protest arbitrary arrest in Haiti
Romelson Vilcin and other journalists participated in a demonstration against the arrest of Robeste Dimanche, a reporter who was arbitrarily detained while working at the Télé Zénith radio station.
The action that took place at the door of the police station where Dimanche was held was brutally suppressed by the police officers. According to the Haitian Journalists Association (AJH), police “fired real ammunition and tear gas to repel media workers.”
According to the statement made by the Haitian National Police General Directorate, Vilcin was shot in the head with a tear gas bullet.
However, journalists present at the scene claim that the police also opened fire on the protesters with firearms and that one of the bullets may have hit the reporter.
“Romelson Vilcin was shot dead in the courtyard of Delmas 33 police station. A police officer who lost control of his machine gun opened fire on Romelson, others bombarded us with tear gas. Raynald Petit-Frere, head of the Haiti Digital Media Collective, of which Vilcin is a member, told Haitian newspaper Le Le Many other media workers were brutally treated by the police, he told Nouvelliste.
AJH also reported that other professionals were injured and that the journalists’ working materials and equipment were confiscated by the police during the demonstration.
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Romelson Vilcin is the sixth journalist ever killed in Haiti in 2022. He was the Port-au-Prince correspondent for radio number 80 Génération in Port-da-Paz, in the northwest of the country.
His death came days after Roberson Alphonse, investigative reporter for the newspaper Le Nouvelliste, was shot dead in his car on his way to work. He was injured but not life threatening.
Alphonse has talked about national politics, crime and policing, and security conditions in the country in his most recent writings and radio shows.
Last week, the body of Garry Tess, a broadcaster from southern Haiti who has been missing since October 18, was also found. Institutions continue to investigate whether the case relates to his journalistic work.
“The Haitian Journalists Association strongly condemns the actions of the police against the press on Sunday, October 30, 2022. The behavior of the officers at the police station at Delmas 33 is reminiscent of times past in recent Haitian history,” he says. AJH.
“The security of the media and the free movement of journalists are essential for the full and complete use of the freedom of the press, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and the right to information, which are the elements of democracy.
AJH demands that the Haitian National Police reject any atrocities against journalists because professionals and the media need protection and security to better fulfill their duties.”
The International Federation of Journalists also condemned the journalist’s death, noting that the violence that has devastated Haiti this year alone has killed six journalists, victims of both organized crime and police.
“A few days before the International Day for the Elimination of Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, the International Court of Justice is calling for the implementation of the Convention on the Safety and Independence of Journalists, a tool that can prevent media workers in Haiti from continuing to be in danger,” he said. said expression. presence.
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source: Noticias
