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About FreedomToPhotograph.com
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FreedomToPhotograph.com was created to allow photographers to tell their stories about
run-ins with law enforcement agencies and what really happened. Sharing stories and trading experiences
is what drives this site! It is important to know your rights
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Media condemns jailing of freelance photographer
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A freelance photographer working for Reuters is to be held for another six months at the Abu Ghraib prison for reasons unknown, American military authorities have declared.
TV cameraman and journalist, Ali Omar Abrahem Al-Mashadani, will be detained in the Baghdad prison for 60 days without any contact, after his unexplained arrest on August 8.
The 36-year-old was reportedly seized by US Army officials after they searched his home and found images on his camera.
Media freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the action, calling for Al-Mashadani to be granted access to legal counsel, or be released outright.
Yet the US army has told Reuters that their freelance will not be released for another six months because he “remains a threat to the people of Iraq.”
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Polish photojournalist expelled,
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New York, August 8, 2005—A Polish photojournalist was expelled from Belarus on Saturday and banned from the country for five years. The Committee to Protect Journalists said today it is disturbed by the expulsion of Adam Tuchlinksi, 25, of the weekly news magazine Przekroj.
Belarusian security agents detained Tuchlinksi as he was about to board a Poland-bound train in the western city of Grodno, according to international reports. Agents took him to a local police station where he was held for several hours and told he lacked proper accreditation to work in Belarus. He returned to Poland on a later train on Saturday, The Associated Press reported.
Tuchlinski was visiting Belarus on a tourist visa, the Polish news agency PAP reported, citing information from the local Polish Association of Belarus. It was unclear whether he had done any journalism work during his visit to Grodno, which has a sizeable population of ethnic Poles.
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Photojournalist Arrested, Equipment Confiscated
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PRESS RELEASE
August 8, 2005
Posted to the web August 9, 2005
On 4 August 2005, Desmond Kwande, chief photographer of the "Daily Mirror", was arrested in Harare by municipal policemen while taking photos of destitute people being rounded up in the city center. The arrest came despite Kwande having identified himself as an accredited photojournalist.
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Police officer manhandles Sao Paulo photojournalist, destroys camera
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Español: Policía agrede a reportero gráfico del periódico "Diario de São Paulo"
Country/Topic: Brazil
Date: 31 August 2005
Source: Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS)
Person(s): Wladimir de Souza
Target(s): photographer(s)
Type(s) of violation(s): other
Urgency: Threat
(IPYS/IFEX) - On 10 August 2005, "Diario de São Paulo" photojournalist Wladimir de Souza was manhandled by police officer Antonio Honório while covering the questioning of a presumed drug trafficker at the civil police's narcotics investigation department (Departamento de Narcóticos, DENARC, Policía Civil). The incident occurred after he photographed the detainee's face while Honório was receiving the man's statement.
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Photojournalist And Newspaper Censored, Equipment Confiscated
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PRESS RELEASE
August 31, 2005
Posted to the web August 31, 2005
On 24 August 2005, Angolan police harassed and censored a photojournalist with the independent weekly "Angolense", allegedly for reporting in an area without prior authorisation.
Photojournalist Francisco Zua was taking photographs in one of the more crowded streets of the capital, Luanda, when a policeman stopped him and said he had no authorisation to report on the area.
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30th Street Station Rights Violation?
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"Gregory M" of Philadelphia, PA sends us this story:
quote:
I was taking photographs in Philadelphia's 30th Street Train Station, and I noticed a ticketing machine that was under repair. I took a photograph of the machine at about a 75 degree angle relative to the screen, and from a safe distance away.
As soon as I proceeded to move on to other subjects, one of the train station employees asked me to stay where I was. I complied, since I was not breaking the law, and I understand the grief station personnel receive from irate passengers.
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08 Aug 2005 by David Mays
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Lincoln, NE
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Tim V. of Lincoln Nebraska writes in to tell us this...
quote:
A Lincoln Nebraska police officer stopped me from photographing my child while at South Pointe Mall. He said that I could be "casing the joint". It seems that the stores have their security systems on the front of the windows. I was using a 75/300 lens with a f/4.5, shooting from a distance of about 15 feet from my son (focused on his eyes). You could not make anything outof the background except blurred colors. I was treated like a criminal and askedto leave. What a great way to ruin an outing with my son.
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NPR Story - Photographers Becoming Security Concerns
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Morning Edition, June 16, 2005 · Photographers across the country have complained of getting harassed by law enforcement officials citing security concerns since the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Full Story
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19 Jun 2005 by David Mays
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Denver - The FBI called....
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From iPhotoforum.com member quote (turnstylepoet):
I received a call from the FBI today because I was photographing a power plant at night last month. A security guard at the power plant stopped me, requested to see my identification and then asked me to leave. Not wanting to cause a problem, I did what the security guard asked me to do. I did manage to make one photograph before I was approached. Now mind you, I was on the side of a public street at the time and I never set foot on private property.
The FBI agent wants to meet with me to discuss what I was doing, why I was doing it, who I was doing it for and he would like to see the photograph I made that night. I agreed to meet with him at a coffee shop, but I am a quite concerned about this whole thing. I am just a photographer who happens to like to do urban night photography. I know that the world has changed since 9/11, but this level of anxiety over photoraphy alarms me.
Have any of you ever experienced anything like this? I don't really know what to expect from my meeting with the FBI agent.
See the full thread here
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USA Today!!!
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Apparently we were featured as a Hot Site on USA Today...
It was a few days ago, but welcome to everyone that has stumbled onto our project from there.
-Nate MC
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Stopped for my 6th time!
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I have been stopped 6 times by local and transit police because of my photography. This is the most recent occurance and the most annoying as well.
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The times that we live in...
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I visited Sergeant Lincoln tonight and spoke with him regarding yesterday's incident.
The meeting was quite short. He began by informing me that they will give me permission to photograph the exteriors of the campus; however I may be stopped on occasion by police asking for identification.
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Photography is NOT a crime
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I was declared a terrorist, today. As I was walking around campus photographing art, buildings, cars, people, I was stopped by police...
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Man Sought for Photographing Texas City Refineries
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Reuters Via Yahoo reports that the authorities are looking for a man for taking pictures of texas refineries.
"While it is not illegal to take pictures of a refinery from a highway or street, officials would like to talk to the man to find out his reason for taking the photographs."
Maybe he just like industrial areas, I know they are much more interesting than the suburbs.
Full story at Yahoo
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Ian Spiers' story picked up by local paper
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You heard about it here before Tacoma residents read about it, But here is their take on the story.
Photographer's rights violated?
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The Artist's Statement
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Seattle resident Ian Spears and his run in with the Seattle PD
The Artist's Statement
Yes folks we are still active, but it's been a busy summer. Best of luck to everyone and I hope I don't hear more stories like Ian's at all.
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Swarmed by 8 Police... Accused of being a member of Al-Quita after shooting pictures of my car.
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While shooting pictures of my car last night in one of my favorite spots, I was accosted by police 2 times. The first time, permission was granted, the second time, 8 cops rolled on in and accused me of working for Al-Queita.
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Liberty Building, eh?
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Today, I was walking around downtown, photographing buildings as I usually do when I'm downtown. When I was photographing some moulding on the Liberty Building, a security guard came up to me and demanded I leave AND apologize. I said "this is public domain and it's obvious that I'm not photographing the insides." He replied "You taking pictures of this building could be a potential danger to the building and he didn't want to take that risk." I replied "I've never heard such crap in my life." He proceeded to tell me "If you don't leave the premesis or put away your camera, I will call the cops." I decided to not put up with his crap, so I left.
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19 Dec 2003 by intensesupernova
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NY Daily News Staff Photographer Harassed
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NY Daily News photographer staff photographer Todd Maisel was stopped by Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority for attempting to take pictures from the bridge.
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Britney's Bodyguards Rough Up Photographers
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According to the New York Post, fans and paparazzi alike are being harassed and having camera's illegally confiscated by Britney Spears' bodyguards, only because they don't want her new "look" to be shown before her appearance on MTV.
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How Much Security?
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In these trying times, law enforcement professionals have a very real challenge before them. They have to attempt to balance the rights of law-abiding citizens against the legitimate desire of the populace for safety and security. What is the answer? Of course nobody can say for sure; it's a difficult issue.
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22 Sep 2003 by David Mays
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Don't Give Up Your Rights
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Now that we live in a world of paranoia and the constant threat of arrest if you do anything suspicious and could be branded a terrorist. I would have to say I am slightly shocked I have never been approached while taking pictures and questioned.
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