Dresden. The Saxon police defended their mission against a ZDF film team in Dresden. Dresden police chief Horst Kretzschmar said Monday that the police clearly distanced themselves from the accusation that they had hindered the free coverage of the press. "In that case we were faced with criminal prosecution, which left us no room for discretion," Kretzschmar said. The correspondent reporter Arndt Ginzel contradicts the representation of the authority. Earlier, journalist organizations and ZDF had demanded comprehensive education.
According to ZDF police arrested Ginzel and a cameraman on the edge of a demonstration of the xenophobic "Pegida" alliance last Thursday in Dresden for about 45 minutes. Earlier, a demonstration participant had complained about the work of the team. On Saturday, Ginzel posted videos of the incident on the internet and wrote on Twitter, the Saxon police made himself "the executive power of Pegida".
In the video, the demonstrator asks the team not to film him and go to the camera. The officers involved in the registration of the personal data of a "police action" against the journalists. The film crew was commissioned by the ZDF magazine »Frontal 21«.
The officials wanted to "stop the threatening escalation" between the demonstrator and the film crew and separate both camps, police said Monday. The personal details of the persons involved were determined. Meanwhile, the demonstrator has filed charges for insulting the cameraman. Ginzel then reported the man for slander. Ginzel rejected this presentation. The officials had first checked the press card of the cameraman, he told the Evangelical Press Service (epd). He himself had come later and then also checked. The reason for the "police measure" of the officials would not have repeatedly demanded. Only at the end of the demonstrator was added and a complaint for insult filed. "The police did not protect the cameraman," Ginzel summarized. Moreover, the insult did not come from the film crew.
The media lawyer Tobias Gostomzyk from Dortmund told the epd that the behavior of the police was initially correct: "The police may assume the identity of journalists." The question, however, is how long the ZDF team was held in total. "This, too, must ultimately be proportionate, just like any action by the state," Gostomzyk said. At the same time, the media lawyer emphasized: "The production of journalistic film recordings alone violates the rights of its own image or data protection legislation as long as it is used for reporting purposes."
The incident had caused national excitement. ZDF editor-in-chief Peter Frey demanded clarification. Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU), who had defended the actions of the police and journalists who were indirectly called dubious, was subjected to sharp criticism. epd / nd
Respond page 4
Source link