Palermo: stones thrown at the car of the correspondent of “Striscia” whilst filming drug-dealing

It happened in the Zen neighbourhood. Vittorio Brumotti and his team were unharmed. The roof of their armoured car was smashed. Perhaps the vehicle’s side was hit by a bullet. It is the ninth attack

On the 25th February 2018 in Palermo the correspondent of Striscia La Notizia, Vittorio Brumotti and his team were hit by a rain of stones and cement blocks thrown of their car from the rooftops whilst they were crossing the streets of the Zen neighbourhood where they had recorded several episodes of drug-dealing.

Brumotti has been documenting for months, with the same technique, in various cities in Italy the sale of drug doses which takes place in public areas. He has been attacked eight times in other cities during filming (read here).

In Palermo the occupants of the car were unhurt but the car was seriously damaged. The roof was broken through. In the vehicle’s side there is a hole which appears to have been caused by gunfire. The police arrived immediately afterwards and stopped a man who attempted to attack one of the cameramen of the team which was recording the scene.

“Without the armoured car it would have killed us” said the correspondent, in the video broadcast on the 27th February on Canale 5 (see here) in which it shows the damaged vehicle and several large pieces of cement launched at it. In addition it shows the faces of several dealers and two sales of cocaine filmed in the street where the attack took place.

Vincenzo Rubano, a journalist in the team of Brumotti told Ossigeno, “They threatened us; they said they would come to take us in our homes. Without doubt this episode in Palermo is the most alarming one which has happened up to now.”

Precedents in Sicily – from 2011 until today in Sicily, Ossigeno has identified 297 serious violations of press freedom and freedom of expression committed with acts of violence or abuses in the context of other journalists, bloggers, video operators, photo-journalists, and editors whose names are published in the Observatory Table. In 2017 44 names have been added to this list.

RDM (wt)