Massive attack on the freedom of press

Copenhagen, 15.12.200

The German Association of Free Radio demand the immediate release of young journalists
During a demonstration at the harbour area of Copenhagen on Sunday, 13th of December, the Danish police arrested two German reporters from Rostock as they were working. The young women, both 23 years old, were reporting for the German Association of Free Radio (BFR). The association strongly condemns the massive restrictions on the freedom of press and demands the immediate release of the two colleagues.

The arrest took place on the fringes of a demonstration as the Danish police tried to dissolve it. In this situation the police tried to prevent a large number of journalists from reporting by shoving them. One of the arrested was also hit in her face whilst filming. Her footage was passed to a colleague shortly before the arrest. In the meantime the videoclip can be watched on the internet.

The police accuse the young independent journalists of an assault against an officer by one person and an escape attempt by the other. “With their accusations Danish authorities give a false color against my colleagues. Both accusations are not true” said Mr. Falk Schlegel for the BFR who was present at the time. On Monday morning a review resulted in the remand of both in custody until the 23rd of December at the latest. The judge adjudicated that the cases were not grave enough to justify a longer than 30 day sentence which was demanded by the State Attorney. The main reason for keeping them under arrest was to make sure that the authorities are able to deport the young journalists.

Videoclip on the Internet: http://indymedia.dk/videos/1640

Important to notice: In the videolink you can hear one of our colleagues (25s to the end) saying:
‘Au! Eh! I haven been pushed. Calm down. I footage here’.
But the arrest did not happen right after this scene. It took appr. additional 2 minutes. At the time of the arrest it was an almost calm situation.

Email Kontakt-email / Contact email: konstruktivkolleg at gmx dot net