On guard
By Sarah Paulsworth Posted Oct 1 2007
Attacks on journalist by security guards are not just preventing journalists from carrying out their jobs by not letting them into a particular building or meeting, but also are actually acting as gatekeepers and as such are impediments to press freedom in countries with emerging democracies.
In India, security guards dragged, kicked and punched mercilessly female journalist Afrida Hussain of Northeast Television (NeTV) when she attempted to interview a group of hospitalized women at the Guwahati Medical College Hospital in March. Hussain’s hand was broken, and she had to undergo treatment at the International Hospital, Guwahati. Hussain says she is still suffering both physically and psychologically from this “barbaric incident.”
In Russia, Andrei Kulgun, a photojournalist with the newspaper Delovoi Peterburg, was beaten by security guards in April while covering a meeting of shareholders of the pig farm that was initiated by Faeton holding company in St. Petersburg. Andrei Yershov, editor in chief, told the Russian Committee for Journalism in Extreme Situations that although Kulgun and other journalists showed their press cards, they were not allowed inside. While journalists were waiting outside, representatives of the pig farm and Faeton came out arguing about something else. When the photojournalist started filming, two security guards approached him, and one of them began beating him. The journalists ran to their vehicle, on which the words “Delovoi Peterburg” were written in large letters. However, the security guards jumped at the car, trying to break its window, before the journalists drove off.
In Azerbaijan, a security guard at Sumgayit State University detained and beat Yukselish Namina correspondent Elchin Hasanov who arrived at the university to investigate alleged corruption in June. Hasanov says he was held against his will, slapped, punched and forbidden from making any phone calls. Several hours later he was handed over to the police, who did not detain the journalist but held his press card for six more hours.
Afrida Hussain of NeTV is being helped by a local lawyer and other organizations. The human rights organization Assam has filed a lawsuit against the security guards, and Hussain’s channel also filed a lawsuit. Hussain says she believes these cases will achieve nothing. “I know no action will be taken because it was a conspiracy against our channel and me,” she says.
In Kulgun’s case, Faeton proposed Delovoi Peterburg an amicable agreement. However, the security guard who struck Kulgun, Alexey Yakovlev, wouldn’t apologize, and the case was sent to the public prosecutor, but the office took no action within the 30 days allotted by Russian law. Following this, the St. Petersburg’s Legislative Assembly sent an appeal to the Office of Public Prosecutor to urge the legal proceedings, and the case is currently under investigation.
In the case of Hasanov of Yukselish Namina, lawyer Intigam Aliyev from the Legal Awareness Center has sent an inquiry on Hasanov’s
illegal detainment by Sumgayit University’s security guards and subsequent confiscation of his press card by local police to the Prosecutor Office of Sumgayit City. The lawsuit for moral and material damages was filed in the Sumgayit City Court in July, and when this issue of Global Journalist went to press, the court hadn’t yet decided whether to consider this case.
International News and Safety Institute in Belgium states in its Safety Code that “security forces must never harass, intimidate or physically attack journalists going about their lawful business;” still some security guards don’t comply with this simple rule.
Deputy Director of the International Press Institute in Austria David Dadge says “security guards should know their rights and the rights of journalists better.”
Journalists also need to respect private property issues and to keep in mind that they are not entitled to special privileges simply because they are journalists. When it comes to public property as in the case of Hasanov, a journalist should be allowed onto the property on the same basis as anyone else, Dadge says.
Dadge advises journalists to inform the representative of the business that they will be coming to report and that this information, including their names, should be passed to security guards so that the journalists can enter the property.
Frank Smyth, Washington representative and journalist security coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists’ says, “CPJ would encourage journalists to both clearly identify themselves as journalists and to act like journalists who are observing, say, a demonstration instead of participating in it.”
The Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety in Azerbaijan and several Azerbaijani newspapers print the rights of journalists on the back of press cards to remind security guards and other people that violating the rights of or attacking journalists is a violation of the law.
Once journalists find themselves in such a situation, IRFS advises local journalists in Azerbaijan to maintain three main priorities: 1) protect themselves, 2) try to summon help, and 3) under no circumstance provoke or reciprocate any aggression. It is also useful to document the incident using dictaphones, photo and video cameras and to pay attention to what the aggressors look like, their names if they say them and badges or markings that reveal anything about their identity, rank and affiliation. According to IRFS, the key is to be subtle. The last thing a journalist wants to do is provoke aggressors. Following that advice will help to bolster a lawsuit, which is probably the next step for a journalist to take.
Here, local lawyers, particularly those specializing in the rights of journalists and the media, are a great asset. As Dadge noted, international organizations are often of little help in such cases because they are not familiar enough with legal regulations in specific countries.
Yet, having international journalism organizations take a more active role in monitoring incidents involving security guards might reduce attacks on journalists by security. International journalism organizations would be capable of coordinating joint initiatives between security companies and the press and lobby for better training for employees of private security companies. They could also work on cases where all local appeals and lawsuit have been exhausted to no avail, to help prevent impunity. There are no statistics on exactly how many conflicts between journalists and security guards are occurring throughout the world.
“All journalists should unite together and raise a voice against those who are becoming barriers to free and fair journalism,” Hussain says.