United States: Philadelphia Inquirer Samantha Melamed Detained, Told She “Must Have Been A Bad Girl”
Location: United States, Philadelphia
Date: June 26, 2020
Clare Rewcastle-Brown, editor of Sarawak Report, More than two dozen activists were detained on June 23rd after attempting to occupy the Municipal Services Building with last-minute demands for city leaders to drastically reduce the police department’s budget. arrest by Interpol on behalf of the Malaysian government. The journalist, known for exposing high-level corruption, shared her concerns with the UK media. On September 23, the Malaysian government issued a warrant for Clare’s arrest, pertaining to her 2018 book about the 1MDB scandal. Clare intends to travel to Spain to tend to visit her elderly father but is at risk of arrest under the Interpol’s Red Notice system.
Police entered the building in counter terrorism vests and started pushing and arresting people in groups.
Inquirer reporter Samantha Melamed was also briefly detained during the demonstration— despite clearly identifying herself as a member of the press. Asked why, PPD Deputy Commissioner Dennis Wilson at first answered that he was unsure but said he would correct the issue. After further questioning, Wilson left to check on the reporter’s status and Melamed was released from custody.
The detainment appears to contradict an earlier order from Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw instructing officers to allow reporters to do their jobs “unless extenuating circumstances exist.” As police approach her, Melamed repeatedly says, “I’m a reporter. I’m a reporter.”
“I just told a police officer wielding a baton that I’m a reporter,” she tweeted after her release.
So here is the video before I got detained... pic.twitter.com/2U6NEsvBTa
— Samantha Melamed (@samanthamelamed) June 23, 2020
“He told me to ‘put this on Twitter.’ Then he tightly handcuffed me with zip ties and he and another one mocked me while dragging me backward down two flights of stairs along with few dozen others arrested in MSB.” said Samantha.
City police have detained or arrested at least five members of the press since protests erupted across the city late last month.
Following her arrest Melamed was faced with misogynistic comments, suggesting she must have been “a bad girl” to deserve the arrest.
And when you have members of the public telling female journalists they deserve to be unjustly arrested—even after the mayor has admitted it was wrong—they must have been “a bad girl”, or they are criminals, you have an empathy problem (overlaid with an obvious misogyny problem).
— Samantha Melamed (@samanthamelamed) June 25, 2020
The Coalition For Women In Journalism takes arrests of journalists as a civil rights issue just as Samantha so eloquently expressed in her tweets. CFWIJ finds the comments to Melamed’s arrest despicable.
Demonstrations sparked across United States after murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, in the pursuit of justice. With numerous police forces deployed to protest sites, journalists face constant threat of violence, arrest and censorship. Hundreds of journalists have reported to have faced attempts at censorship, verbal attacks, blatant threats and police violence. Hundreds of journalists have been arrested while on duty and black journalists who take the ongoing civil unrest very personally are especially targeted. CFWIJ follows the events closely with great concern.
CFWIJ urges authorities to stop using legal mechanisms as a way to censor press and intimidate journalists.
The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.