Author: Lucie Sykorova, HlidaciPes.org, Czech republic
Physical attacks on journalists are on the rise in Germany. Eastern federal states topped the list of incidents, surpassed for the first time last year by Berlin. Local journalists covering demonstrations are most at risk, the study found.
The Leipzig-based European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) has been tracking cases of attacks on journalists since 2015. According to a study Fendbild Journalist (Journalist as Enemy), which the centre is working on in cooperation with the Federal Association of German Newspaper Publishers (BDZV), the number of cases rose again last year. 69 incidents were recorded compared to 56 in 2022. Between 2015 and 2019, the average was around 23 cases per year.
A third of all registered cases since 2015 (117 out of 390) have been in the state of Saxony. Last year, the study recorded 13 cases there, compared to 11 the year before. In 2022, Berlin was second with nine assaults, followed by Bavaria and Thuringia with eight cases. Then last year, Berlin became the new champion with 25 cases. Bavaria remained in third place last year with six cases.
77 percent of all cases took place at demonstrations (53 out of 69 cases), including 40 percent at pro-Palestinian rallies (21 out of 53 cases). Moreover, 79 per cent of attacks on journalists in Saxony come from the far-right spectrum (92 out of 117 cases mapped since 2015).
For security reasons, I will not continue
The authors of the study noted an increasing aggression in the attitude of the public and especially demonstrators towards journalists and photographers. The hostility towards the media is no longer only manifested by cries of “Lügenpresse” (lying press), insults and threats, which have become part of the daily life of journalists, but also by the increased number of violent attacks on journalists in the last four years, says study co-author Patrick Peltz.
„I´m reporting from Burgstädt in Saxony. Querdenker (Lateral Thinkers) have been marching here for months, today for the first time the event is announced,“ journalist Kili Weber described on Twitter the events of a demonstration in the Saxon town of Burgstädt in April 2023.
„There are about 50 participants here. “Free Saxony” flags and Russian flags are visible. There is also an upside-down German flag, a symbol of the Reichsbürger scene. In the speeches, racist fake news is spread. It is claimed that the police are not allowed to take any action against the suspected migrants. Then they talk about Germany being a company, which is clearly Reichsbürger jargon.“
After a while, the marchers try to shield the reporter’s camera with various objects, after which one of the participants hits her in the arm with a razor.
In September 2023, the same journalist describes on Twitter the events of a demonstration called by the radical right-wing Free Saxony Party in the town of Crimmitschau:
„One of the participants shouts that I should be stabbed. Another hits my mobile phone with a punch, another hits my entourage with a mallet… The demonstration continues, but for security reasons I will not report further. This concludes my report.“
Other cases are being reported from Dresden, the cradle of the far-right Pegida movement. „On 6 November, a journalist was attacked in Dresden on Sophienstraße near the corner of Taschenberg, where about a thousand supporters of the far-right PEGIDA movement were demonstrating. One of the participants kicked the journalist below the knee and injured him. Another participant tried to hit the journalist with his hand on the back of the head,“ the study says.
AfD politicians Björn Höcke and Andreas Kalbitz spoke at the event. PEGIDA co-founder Lutz Bachmann was also present.
But attacks on journalists also happen outside demonstrations. In May 2023, the photographer Uwe Meinhold was physically attacked by a passer-by in the Saxony town of Chemnitz during a planned photo-op with the left-wing councillor Susanne Schaper.
„After the first picture was taken, a man came up to me and aggressively told me that I had taken his picture. When I said no, he punched me in the face with his right fist and kicked me between the legs,“ the photographer described the incident to the daily TAG24, for which he was working at that time. After the attack, his upper lip bled as a result of his injuries.
Uwe Meinhold is a freelance photographer who lives and works in the Erzgebirge region of Saxony. He often takes photographs for local media and institutions, but his photographs are also picked up by renowned national media such as Spiegel. In 2011, he won a journalism award for a photograph he took for the DPA news agency.
Self-censorship and lack of protection
According to an analysis of the study by Feindbild Journalist, self-censorship has increased in Germany in recent years as a result of aggressive attacks, especially in local media. In interviews with the authors of the study, local journalists admitted that some topics are omitted from coverage because journalists perceive their situation as a state of permanent threat.
The authors of the study warn that such self-censorship is a dangerous phenomenon for democracy.
„Reports by local journalists that they or their colleagues do not report on certain actors and movements out of concern for their safety are very worrying for press freedom in Germany. Critical reporting is particularly important ahead of this year’s elections in Saxony, in which a number of right-wing extremists are running. The ‘blind spots’ in news coverage make it easier for these actors to present themselves as harmless and caring candidates and thus connect with people who feel abandoned by the established parties,“ notes study co-author Patrick Peltz.
According to the researchers, inadequate protection of journalists at demonstrations by the police is also often a problem. Although the situation is improving in this respect, according to the ECPMF, journalists still repeatedly report cases where they have not been sufficiently protected or have themselves been targeted by police.
The ECPMF has already issued a Police Code of Freedom of the Press in 2019. This addresses issues of police violence, surveillance, accreditation, protection of sources and confiscation of journalistic materials. The drafters of the code drew on research into areas of conflict between the two professions from across Europe.
By issuing the Code, the ECPMF aims to provide guidance, establish a dialogue between journalists and the police, and help the two professions work more smoothly together.
The Belgian representative of the European Police Confederation (EuroCOP), Peter Smets, welcomed the initiative five years ago. „Given the increase in violence in our society, journalists and police officers face the same challenges. It is a call for better communication. At the end of the day, we all want to return home safely.“
In addition to the ECPMF, five other organisations have contributed to the Code: the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Index on Censorship, Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT), Ossigeno per l’informazione (O2) and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO).
The author is Chair of the Supervisory Board of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF).
