(CERIGUA/IFEX) – On the morning of 27 July 2008, unidentified individuals shot at the entrance to journalist Edin Rodelmiro Maaz Bol’s house in Cobán, Alta Verapaz. Cobán is located 15 kilometres north of the capital, Guatemala City. According to information published in the daily “Prensa Libre”, several of Maaz Bol’s neighbours saw the assailants drive […]
(CERIGUA/IFEX) – On the morning of 27 July 2008, unidentified individuals shot at the entrance to journalist Edin Rodelmiro Maaz Bol’s house in Cobán, Alta Verapaz. Cobán is located 15 kilometres north of the capital, Guatemala City.
According to information published in the daily “Prensa Libre”, several of Maaz Bol’s neighbours saw the assailants drive by in a vehicle while firing shots at the journalist’s house. Based on the bullet shells recovered at the scene, it has been determined that a 9 millimetre calibre weapon was used.
The 50-year-old journalist, who works as a news announcer and correspondent for Radio Punto radio station, as well as hosting a sports programme for a local radio station, said that he has not received any death threats and does not know why his home was attacked. However, he did note that the trial of the person accused in the assassination of his brother, Eduardo Heriberto Maaz Bol, is in its final stages.
Eduardo Heriberto Maaz Bol, who was also a correspondent for Radio Punto, was assassinated at the entrance to Cobán on 10 September 2006 by individuals driving a black vehicle with tinted windows. In addition to his work as a journalist, Eduardo Heriberto Maaz Bol was also a human rights defender and supervisor in the educational system.
Ileana Alamilla, the coordinator of CERIGUA’s Journalists’ Observatory, condemned the attack on Edin Rodelmiro Maaz Bol’s home and called on the authorities to investigate the incident and implement the necessary measures to ensure the safety of the journalist and his family.
