Germany: Anti-mask protestors harass and attack ZDF correspondent Dunja Hayali, forcing the crew to stop filming
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August 4, 2020, Berlin, Germany -- Over 20,000 demonstrators marched through Berlin on August 1, as part of countrywide demonstrations and rallies against state corona measures, to protest the restrictions and hygiene regulations that the government introduced due to the corona pandemic.
Because the demonstrators neither adhered to the social distancing rules nor wore masks at the rally that followed, the police began to dissolve the gathering in the early evening. Eighteen police officers were injured when the rally was dissolved.
The crowd which quickly got violent also harassed ZDF correspondent Dunja Hayali, forcing her crew to stop filming. Dunja was accompanied with a camera crew and a sound engineer when she made her way through the crowd to ask demonstrators about their motives. While the presenter recorded the events on her cell phone and streamed live via Instagram, she quickly identified herself as press.
There, it quickly became clear what the demonstrators think of journalists - especially the public figures. On the video recorded by Hayali, you can almost continuously hear in the background how participants in the rally chant "liar " or ask the journalist to "run away". Dunja was also referred to as a “bitch” and was pushed, in the video posted on her Instagram one can clearly see how the raging protestors came dangerously close to the journalist’s bubble putting her safety and health at risk.
Upon recommendation from her crew, the 46 year old public figure then decided to leave the field as “It is not non-violent. It would escalate,” as one of her security team advised.
In the video that has now been clicked more than 100.000 times “It’s a dangerous melange that comes together on the street,” says Dunja. But she is committed to not letting Saturday’s events get to her, “As the press, we must not be intimidated. We have to go here. You need a thick skin, I have one that is waiting at home. It’s cozy, stinky and dirty, but it’s mine.”
Dunja also has a clear message to her approximately 140.000 followers: “Stay peaceful, endure opposition, be opinionative, get involved, show your face, keep your distance and wear the mask whenever it is necessary.”
Dunja Hayali is not the first reporter who was assaulted and had her safety put at risk while following anti-mask protests. Canadian journalist Kariane Bourassa was attacked in a similar way last week in Quebec. Such acts of violence against journalists during demonstrations against Covid-19 protective measures are apparently no longer a rarity. On July 17th freelance journalist Beate Josefine Luber was also attacked on the ground and was threatened by police forces.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism deplores the actions of those who physically and verbally harassed Dunja Hayali. We demand that German authorities take strict actions against those behind this act of intimidation, which did not only impede Dunja’s work but also put her health at risk.
