A photographer from the Twentsche Courant Tubantia was attacked on Friday afternoon by security guards at a vaccination location. The man had taken photos outside the building in Enschede, and was ordered by security guards to remove the photos. When he didn’t, they tried him according to the newspaper pushing against the ground. The GGD has apologized.
Photographer Cees Elzenga first asked if he could take pictures indoors, but he was denied permission. He then decided to take a picture of an empty parking lot. Three security guards then approached the photographer and demanded that he delete the images. Elzenga refused. “I will not immediately delete photos if someone does not want to,” Elzenga tells Tubantia.
The security guards called the police and while they were waiting, the photographer took another picture of the situation. One of the security guards then grabbed him from behind, he says. They tried to force the press photographer to put his arms behind his back. When he resisted, one of the security guards tried to push him to the ground.
In the end that did not work and the other security guards calmed their colleague. When the police arrived, they ordered the security guards to release Elzenga, he says.
Delete and salt photo?
Elzenga reported the incident to PersVeilig, an initiative of the Dutch Association of Journalists, the Association of Editor-in-Chiefs, the Public Prosecution Service and the police. It was established to defend the position of journalists in the face of violence and aggression against the press. He is also considering filing a report.
“What else should I have done? Delete and salt the photos? Lie down in the bushes to take a photo of a parking lot? Where does it end then? Keep your claws off the press,” says Elzenga.
The GGD Twente says in a response that it finds it particularly annoying what happened and has apologized by telephone.
“For GGD Twente, the privacy and safety of all visitors has a high priority,” said a statement. “Security is therefore present at every vaccination site to help us with this. We deeply regret the situation that arose last Friday between security and the photographer. We disapprove of aggression in any form whatsoever. We have discussed this incident with both parties. “
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