Germany: Journalist Ignacio Rosaslanda was physically attacked and arrested by police while reporting on …

The undersigned international organizations for media freedom, freedom of expression and journalists call on the German authorities to thoroughly investigate the physical attack by Berlin police on Mexican video journalist Ignacio Rosaslanda while he was covering a police operation. The journalist, working for the daily Berliner Zeitung, was not only prevented from reporting and physically abused, but was also arbitrarily detained for hours without medical care. We call on the authorities to take appropriate measures to ensure that the attack does not go unpunished and to strengthen the protection of journalists who are vulnerable targets during demonstrations.

On May 23, 2024, Mexican journalist Ignacio Rosaslanda was at the Institute of Social Sciences at Humboldt University to cover protests by pro-Palestinian activists who had occupied the building. Police intervened to evacuate the activists. Rosaslanda, who filmed the evacuation and identified himself to police as a press representative, was physically attacked by a Berlin police officer. The incident was recorded from the journalist.

“The police officer suddenly attacked me from behind. He hit me twice in the face before pinning me to the ground with his knee on my back. I kept screaming that I was a journalist. I even had my journalist card around my neck and my camera in one hand. You could see that I was documenting,” Rosaslanda told MFRR partners. As he lay on the ground, according to Rosaslanda, the police officer even told him: “Press freedom is not unlimited, your colleagues are outside doing their job and are not handcuffed.” Although Rosaslanda tried to clarify the reason for his aggression by the police, he was told that he was the one who attacked and resisted arrest. “I was then handcuffed for at least an hour and held for questioning for at least three hours.” At the police station, the injured Rosaslanda was denied immediate medical attention. The journalist had to be taken to hospital by one of his colleagues after the interrogation.

On May 24, 2024, the editorial staff of the Berliner Zeitung strongly condemned the violence against Rosaslanda and the obstruction of her work by the Berlin police. “An attack on a journalist is an attack on press freedom. This is all the more serious when the attack comes from the state,”wrote The Berliner Zeitung. Rosaslanda filed suit for assault and abuse of office.