It calls for immediate in-depth investigation to locate him
MIAMI, Florida (March 27, 2018)—The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today expressed concern at the disappearance in Haiti of news photographer Vladjimir Legagneur and urged the local authorities to investigate exhaustively and make available the necessary resources to locate him and bring those responsible to justice.
Legagneur, 30, went missing on March 14 when he was about to make a report on the living conditions in the Grand-Ravine neighborhood, one of the poorest in the capital city, Port au Prince. The independent news photographer has not appeared for 13 days.
IAPA president Gustavo Mohme urged the authorities "to act with a sense of urgency and exhaustively investigate in order to locate the journalist as soon as possible and punish those responsible." Mohme, editor of the Peruvian newspaper La República, joined an international call for the immediate reappearance of the journalist.
Roberto Rock, chairman of the IAPA's Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, sympathized with the family and Haitian colleagues alarmed at Legagneur's disappearance. Rock, editor of the Mexican news portal La Silla Rota, regretted that "this case is a clear example of the risk to which journalists are exposed while carrying out their work not only in Haiti but also in other countries of the Western Hemisphere."
The news photographer's wife presented information of his disappearance to the Judicial Police Central Office (DCPJ) after he failed to return home, which he had left around 9:00 a.m. on March 14. Prior to his disappearance he had not reported any threats against him.
Legagneur strings for several local media and non-governmental organizations. He worked at the newspaper Le Matin and the online news agency Loop Haiti, among other media.
The IAPA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the defense and promotion of freedom of the press and of expression in the Americas. It is made up of more than 1,300 publications from throughout the Western Hemisphere and is based in Miami, Florida.