Journalists attacked in Germany since 1992
‘It is becoming unbearable:’ Journalists say they have become ‘scapegoats’ at anti-vaccine protests
Journalists covering demonstrations against COVID-19 countermeasures have been called “terrorists,” “pedophiles,” “murderers,” and “scumbags.” Protesters have harassed and assaulted members of the press, and told them that “the nooses are ready.” Threats like these have become increasingly familiar for reporters in Europe and the United States, where the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a CPJ partner,…
German journalist Michael Trammer detained, charged with trespassing while covering environmental protesters
Berlin, September 22, 2021 — German authorities should immediately drop all charges against photojournalist Michael Trammer and ensure that members of the press can cover public events without fear of detention, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On September 10 at about 1:45 p.m., police in Munich detained Trammer, a freelance photojournalist on assignment…
Exiled Turkish journalist attacked near his home in Germany
On the evening of July 7, 2021, Erk Acarer, an exiled Turkish journalist who is a columnist for the Turkish leftist daily BirGün, was attacked outside his home in Berlin by three assailants who used “fists and knives” while one told him, “you will not write,” according to journalist’s video and written accounts on Twitter, and to news reports. Acarer tweeted…
German law increases government surveillance and hacking powers, removes protection for journalists
Berlin, June 16, 2021—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern after Germany’s Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, removed legal provisions that exempted journalists from surveillance during terrorism investigations. Amendments to Germany’s Federal Constitutional Protection Act — approved on June 10, 2021 — give domestic and foreign intelligence services and the federal police powers to…
Demonstrators throw rocks, firecrackers at news crews in Berlin
Berlin, May 20, 2021 — German authorities should swiftly and thoroughly investigate recent attacks on journalists covering protests, hold those responsible to account, and ensure that reporters can cover events of public interest safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On May 15, members of a pro-Palestine protest in Berlin attacked at least three…
Berlin police shove journalists with batons, prevent them from covering eviction
Police in Berlin physically attacked journalists to prevent them from covering a controversial eviction on October 8, 9, and 10, 2020, in which police removed activists who had been squatting at a house in the city, according to journalists Björn Kietzmann and Christina Gutsmiedl, who spoke with CPJ via messaging app and email respectively, journalists’ social…
Q&A: Financial Times reporters Dan McCrum and Stefania Palma on Wirecard and pressures on business journalists
Dan McCrum and Stefania Palma, business reporters for the Financial Times, spent years investigating German payments company Wirecard and revealed in a series of articles that the darling of the stock markets and the German tech scene faked its accounts. When it filed for insolvency in June 2020, Wirecard owed creditors billions of dollars, and…
Germany revisits influential internet law as amendment raises privacy implications
On October 1, a new law to regulate content posted on social media platforms took effect in Turkey, The Guardian reported. Turkish journalists already face censorship and arrest because of social media posts, CPJ has found, and the law offers just one more tool to censor news. Yet the legislation was not solely conceived in Ankara; it follows the example of one…
Demonstrators attack, obstruct journalists covering protests against COVID-19 lockdown in Germany
Since mid-July, 2020, German protesters against the country’s COVID-19 restrictions have attacked journalists covering their demonstrations, according to news reports and videos of the incidents shared on social media. On July 17, at a protest in the town of Weiden, Bavaria, protesters harassed Beate Josefine Luber, a local freelance reporter covering the demonstrations for regional…
German injunction against BuzzFeed story in place since September due to COVID-19
On September 18, 2019, the Berlin Regional Court issued a temporary injunction ordering BuzzFeed Germany, the local branch of the U.S. media outlet, to remove two articles from its website, according to news reports from the time. Due to the country’s lockdown to halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the court has not held…