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Alert

Televisión director in Aguán another victim of assault on freedom of expression

(C-Libre/IFEX) - Nahún Palacios, the director of Canal 5 television station in the Aguán area, has said that military personnel have carried out an assault on him and his television station, arriving at the extreme of confiscating his equipment.

According to Palacios, the military personnel's actions were aimed at stopping the station from broadcasting images of protests that are taking place in favour of deposed president Manuel Zelaya. "They confiscated all the equipment and damaged the facilities. They are after me for the simple reason that I publicised some images," Palacios said.

Palacios fears for his life and the lives of his family members after what took place on 30 June 2009. "Armed men grabbed my children, they raided my home. The second in command in the armed forces, the captain of the third frigate, threatened me," he said. "In Honduras, we have lost the constitutional guarantees afforded to citizens. A person is worth nothing. No one can talk about anything. My equipment was returned to me, but with conditions."

Later, the armed forces invited the press in the area to a lunch meeting. During the meeting, journalists were warned not to talk about the coup d'état. Many conditions have been put on radio stations in the area who want continue broadcasting, Palacios said.

Finally, the journalist said that in his 33 years, he has never lived through a situation such as this. As a result of the situation, he is thinking about immigrating in order to be able to carry out his work freely.