On August 13, ITN’s John Ray was arrested while covering a protest in Beijing:
Police in Beijing roughed up and detained a British journalist after he covered a Free Tibet protest close to the city’s main Olympic zone earlier today.
The incident appeared to be the clearest breach yet of the host nation’s promise of free media access during the Games.
John Ray, of Independent Television News, said he was pinned down by police, dragged along the ground and pushed into a police van.
On September 1, Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman and two of her producers were arrested while covering a protest in St Paul, Minnesota:
Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman was unlawfully arrested in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota at approximately 5 p.m. local time. Police violently manhandled Goodman, yanking her arm, as they arrested her…..
Goodman was arrested while attempting to free two Democracy Now! producers who were being unlawfuly detained. They are Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. Kouddous and Salazar were arrested while they carried out their journalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. Goodman’s crime appears to have been defending her colleagues and the freedom of the press.
Ramsey County Sherrif Bob Fletcher told Democracy Now! that Kouddous and Salazar were being arrested on suspicion of rioting. They are currently being held at the Ramsey County jail in St. Paul.
Update: Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar have been released, but charged with obstruction and rioting.
All three were violently manhandled by law enforcement officers. Abdel Kouddous was slammed against a wall and the ground, leaving his arms scraped and bloodied. He sustained other injuries to his chest and back. Salazar’s violent arrest by baton-wielding officers, during which she was slammed to the ground while yelling, “I’m Press! Press!,” resulted in her nose bleeding, as well as causing facial pain. Goodman’s arm was violently yanked by police as she was arrested.
See also: Glen Greenwald and ESWN.
UPDATE 2:
Nicole Salazar had her camera running at time of her arrest:
The transcript and video in which all three journalists describe the events in detail are now online at Democracy Now.
2 Comments
Subtle but poignant. Hopefully, the point is not lost on the Westerners reading this.
I agree with Kai - subtle but poignant. We in America often overlook the fact that we don’t always meet the same high standards that we demand and expect of others.
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