Sanef wants illegal assaults and arrests of journalists dealt with by highest authority
The SA National Editors' Forum condemns two outrageous illegal police attacks on press photographers in Pretoria and Bloemfontein while they were carrying out their duties of informing the public by picturing incidents in the two cities on Friday, February 4.
Pretoria News Chief Photographer Masi Losi was taking pictures of the police bundling an alleged thief into their police van outside the newspaper's office after he had been rescued from a mob when one of the policemen, according to Losi, shouted, "He's taking pictures".
The policeman's colleague tried to take Losi's camera from him. Losi said he was grabbed by the throat and thrown to the ground but fought back. He was pulled back into the building by colleagues who argued with the police over his rights as a photographer. By then eight police cars had arrived and some 30 police officers tried to storm the Pretoria News office demanding the release of Losi who they wanted to arrest for "interfering" with their work.
Executive editor Jos Charle who had seen the police manhandling Losi refused the police entry and called Gauteng police commissioner Lieut-General Mzwandlile Petros who apparently ordered the police not to arrest Losi and leave the premises.
In Bloemfontein, Volksblad photographer Theo Jeptha came across a group of schoolchildren fighting in the street while two policemen in a police car nearby sat watching without taking action. When he began taking pictures of the fight one of the policemen climbed out of the car and grabbed Jeptha's camera while bundling him into the back of the vehicle and drove off. After making a cellphone call, the policemen turned the car around and returned to the spot where they released him.