Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Putin approvesexperts for talks with Ukraine: Kremlin
Russian Deputy FM Galuzin, Head of General Staff Kostyukov, Deputy Defense Minister Fomin will participate in Istanbul talks: Kremlin
Russian presidential aide Medinsky will lead Russia delegatioon at Ukraine talks: Kremlin
Putin approves composition of Russian delegation for negotiations with Ukraine: Kremlin
Abu Obeida posts on X, commenting on the West Bank operation amid Israeli rumors that he was assassinated
Israeli media: An Israeli settler was killed and two others were injured in the shooting near Salfit
Israeli emergency service: The shooting near Salfit resulted in two injuries, one in extremely critical condition and the other in serious condition
Palestinian sources: Two Israelis were injured in a shooting operation near Nablus in the northern West Bank
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: I am waiting to see who will arrive from Russia. Then I will decide what steps Ukraine should take
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: Ukraine ready for any format of negotiations to end war with Russia

British police arrested journalists, reporters at protest

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 9 Nov 2022 16:13
4 Min Read

It wouldn't be the first time British police cracked down on free speech.

  • x
  • British police arrested journalists, reporters at protest
    Just Stop Oil on the M25 highway in protest. (PA Wire)

British police were roundly criticized for arresting journalists as they covered environmental protests, as they detained a radio reporter, photographer, and documentary filmmaker on Monday and Tuesday.

Just Stop Oil, an activist group, chained themselves to gantries over the M25 motorway, a very busy road with heavy traffic. 

Read next: Environmental protesters block service stations on M25 for second day

Despite showing her press card, Charlotte Lynch was arrested on a nearby motorway bridge. According to LBC radio, she was handcuffed, driven to a police station, and held for 5 hours before being released.

"The only question was how I knew to be there," said Lynch, who said that police were suspicious of her causing conspiracy to cause public chaos. 

"I was just doing my job," she added, calling it a "terrifying" assault on press freedom."It was blindingly obvious I was a reporter." 

The two other journalists said they had their equipment taken from them, while one said that the British police searched his house. Just Stop Oil's goal is to end British oil and gas exploration; the group has been engaging in disruptive protests for weeks. 

Related News

Two UK climate protestors jailed for climbing bridge, delaying traffic

World snooker championship interrupted by Just Stop Oil protesters

The British police are being criticized for pre-emptively arresting Just Stop Oil protesters. 

Read next: Britain is broken: Thousands rally in London, demand general election

Hertfordshire Police defended its behaviors, saying it had "grounds" to hold the journalists in custody "in order to verify their credentials and progress our investigation". In response, the British National Union of Journalists (NUJ) called the arrest a "breach of journalists' rights." 
 
"Journalists have every right to protect sources and should not be pressured into revealing private communications," it added. 
 
"A press card presented by any journalist to police officers should be respected, and any effort to undermine journalists' work ultimately threatens press freedom." 
 
Shami Chakrabarti, the former head of the civil liberties group Liberty, called the arrests "very, very serious". 
 
"If the police are now going to start arresting journalists for conspiracy to commit a public nuisance -- in other words for knowing a demonstration is about to take place -- then they are effectively shutting down the free press," she told LBC. 

Read next: A Crackdown on Democracy: UK's New Bill Suppresses Free Speech

Julian Assange remains in prison

This is not the first time that the UK has launched an assault on the freedom of press for political purposes. Scores of journalists from around the world have protested the UK's imprisonment of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is fighting attempts to extradite him to the US. 

Tim Dawson, of the National Union of Journalists of Britain and Ireland said back in June, "If Julian Assange can be threatened with prosecution as a spy, what might that mean for other journalists?" 

On June 22, fifteen international journalist and publisher unions and organizations convened in Geneva for a "call to free Julian Assange in the name of press freedom."

Dominique Pradalie, head of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), which has 600,000 members across 140 countries said, "We are demanding that Julian Assange be freed, returned to his family, and finally permitted to live a normal life."

Last year in January, Assange's sentencing or punishment was postponed when reports arose that he was feeling suicidal as he was kept in maximum-security solitary confinement at a Special Administrative Measures (SAMs). 

  • Just Stop Oil
  • Journalist
  • UK
  • United Kingdom

Most Read

Trump cut off contact with Netanyahu, senior Israeli official says

Trump cut off contact with Netanyahu: Israeli media

  • US & Canada
  • 9 May 2025
A boy draped in a Palestinian flag carries a mock rocket during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israeli rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, May 9, 2025 (AP)

Yemen announces hypersonic missile strike on Ben Gurion Airport

  • Politics
  • 9 May 2025
President Donald Trump, left, greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Washington (AP)

US pressures 'Israel' for Gaza deal; Witkoff's Israeli rebuke leaked

  • US & Canada
  • 9 May 2025
Israeli troops move with APC, armored personnel carrier near the border with Gaza, in southern Occupied Palestine, Thursday, May 8, 2025 (AP)

'Gideon's Chariots' operation in Gaza is doomed to fail: Haaretz

  • Palestine
  • 9 May 2025

Coverage

All
Gaza prevails against genocide

Read Next

All
A Fly Dubai plane is parked on the tarmac at Ben Gurion International Airport in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024 (AP)
Economy

Israeli tourism suffers $3bln loss amid 'unprecedented' crisis

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during an annual ceremony in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, April 29, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu refuses to budge, captive talks stall: Israeli officials

Susan Sarandon joins hundreds urging BBC to release delayed Gaza film
Europe

Susan Sarandon joins call for BBC to air documentary on Gaza medics

In this photo released by the Saudi Royal Palace, Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, left, shakes hands with President Donald Trump, centre, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, May 14, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Trump worries 'Israel' with Syria sanctions lift: The Times

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS