MAY 4, 2005
Posted: June 9, 2005
André Lima, Diário do Nordeste
ATTACKED
Military police officers attacked Lima, a photographer for the daily newspaper, while he was covering a demonstration in Fortaleza, the capital of northeastern Ceará state. The protesters opposed efforts by a public utility to install a high-voltage power line inside a poor neighborhood. Lima told CPJ that police officers beat some of the protesters, including women and children. He said that police punched him in the face and broke his camera.
Lima said he didn’t file a police complaint because he feared retaliation, and he noted a “climate of impunity” in Fortaleza. The journalists trade union advised him to file a lawsuit, Lima said, but he decided against it.