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CAMERAMAN WHO COVERED CRIME SHOT DEAD

Teleunión journalist Normando García was shot and killed on 7 August 2008 in Santiago, a city north of Santo Domingo.

Local news reported that multiple gunshots were fired from a moving car at García, a cameraman for the daily news program "Detrás de la Noticia" (Behind the News) and a music producer. A taxi driver he was talking to was also fatally injured.

"Detrás de la Noticia" host Esteban Rosario told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) he believed that García was murdered in retaliation for his work. Anonymous callers had told García he would die if he kept reporting drug trafficking and other crime, according to Rosario, who has also been threatened. García's car was set on fire outside the Teleunión offices eight months ago, he added.

Santiago police told CPJ that investigators have a lead on suspects in the crime, and are providing protection to other journalists on the police beat. One other journalist in the Dominican Republic has been killed in direct reprisal for his work in the last five years, CPJ noted.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Dominican member, the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) called on authorities to ensure that journalists can cover organised crime in safety. That requires catching, trying and sentencing those responsible for García's death, they said.

Visit these links:
- CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/news/2008/americas/dr08aug08na.html
- IFJ: http://tinyurl.com/58cp6e
(13 August 2008)