Location: United States, Des Moines, IOWA
Date: June 13, 2020

Des Moines police arrested Register reporter Andrea Sahouri on Sunday while she was covering a demonstration at Merle Hay Mall on June 1st.

Sahouri was live tweeting from the ground when police started attacking the protesters with tear gas, she stopped to help a protester that was hit by a gas canister.

“As I was seeing if his leg was O.K., the police came closer and we went around the corner and I was saying, ‘I’m press. I’m press. I’m press,’” Sahouri said.

An officer then sprayed her twice in the face with pepper spray, the Register reported. Officers then handcuffed her behind her back using zip ties, as can be seen in a footage captured by KCCI 8 News.

According to Polk County Jail booking records, she was charged with failure to disperse and interference with official acts. She was released shortly after 11 p.m.

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.