A journalist lost her sight in the right eye after being hit by a defensive bullet fired by Hong Kong police. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) once again urges the authorities to guarantee the safety of journalists.
Indonesian media reporter Suara Hong Kong News, Veby Mega Indah , lost all eyesight in her right eye after being hitin the face on Sunday (September 29th) by a Hong Kong-based defense bullet. On Tuesday, October 1, during pro-democracy demonstrations in parallel with the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, several journalists were also injured by the police (see below the chronology of violence against the media since the beginning of crisis).
With a disabled journalist for life, the violence against the press in Hong Kong reaches a new peak , is outraged Cédric Alviani, director of the East Asia office of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which urges authorities “to act without delay to guarantee the safety of journalists and to launch without delay an independent investigation into acts of violence committed against them. “
Since the protests began in June , the Hong Kong police have regularly been singled out for many cases of violenceagainst journalists. In the face of these attacks, RSF called on Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, in an open letterthat received only a tongue-in-cheekresponse .
In the RSF press freedom rankings , the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region fell from 18th place in 2002 to 73rd place this year.
Four months of violence against the press
- October 1, 2019: Journalists from Stand News and RTHK were hit by defense bullets. A Local Pressreporter was arrested and detained at the police station for more than 24 hours. Journalists from Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) and Apple Daily , among others, have been threatened by police carrying firearms.
- September 29, 2019: In the Wanchai district, an Indonesian-language media reporter Suara Hong Kong News, Veby Mega Indah , lost all eyesight in the right eye after being hit in the face by a defensive bullet fired by the police. In the Causeway Bay neighborhood, police attacked a reporter with pepper spray.
- September 24, 2019: An Apple Dailyreporter , who was already being harassed , was assaulted by four masked men while she was dining in the Sau Mau Ping neighborhood.
- September 15, 2019: A third-year student journalist was arrested by the police while covering the demonstrations.
- September 7, 2019: Two Special Forces officers used pepper spraysagainst journalists from AFP, Ming Pao, HK01 and Cable TV . In the Yau Ma Tei neighborhood, a Stand Newsreporter was hit by a man while he was covering.
- September 2, 2019: Police used large doses of pepper spray against journalists in front of the Mongkok police station. A Special Forces member tossed a reporter from Now TV .
- August 31, 2019: Many journalists and photographers were banned from covering the events by police near the Prince Edward MTR station.
- August 24, 2019: A pro-Beijing mafia gang attacked Now TV reporters and local RTHK and Oriental Daily reporters, obstructing their reporting.
- August 11, 2019: Five journalists working for Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), online media HK01 , Ming Pao newspaper and other unidentified media were attacked by a pro-Beijing mafia group in the North Point neighborhood. while a Stand News reporter was subjected to insults and threats.
- August 5, 2019: In the neighborhood of Sham Shui Po, a student of journalism briefly lost consciousnessafter being hit by a tear gas canister fired by police. In the Wong Tai Sin neighborhood, a Sing Tao Dailyreporter was shot in the face. A mafia group armed with clubs attacked an online media photographer HK01 in the Tsuen Wan neighborhood.
- July 30, 2019 : A photojournalist working for Apple Daily was beatenby police officers in the vicinity of the Kwai Chung Police Station, who also threatened RTHK journalist. A large number of journalists were hit by tear gas, including a Stand News reporter who had to be hospitalized.
- July 28, 2019: Police repeatedly used tear gas against journalists in Sai Ying Pun and Sheung Wan neighborhoods.
- July 21, 2019: Two journalists working for Stand News and Now TVare among the 45 people seriously injured in a large-scale attack perpetrated at Yuen Long metro station by an armed gangster gang.
- July 14, 2019 : A journalist working for Commercial Radio Hong Kongreceived a spray of pepper spray in his face and was later jostled by police in the Shatin neighborhood.
- July 7, 2019: In the Mongkok neighborhood, police verbally and physically assaulted three journalists working for Apple Daily , HK01 and Metro Radio .
Copyright ©2016, Reporters Without Borders. Used with the permission of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), CS 90247 75083 Paris Cedex 02 https://rsf.org
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They take journalism really seriously because they know the force that it is and can be~Christiane Amanpour
