Concern over media attack

Nick Nostitz, a German freelance photojournalist, was attacked by protesters after being singled out in a crowd by a protest leader who urged rally guards to “chase him away”. He was slightly injured in the incident, and saved from further harm after police led him away from the attackers.

“We must specifically call out the irresponsible action of protest leader Chumpol Joonsai, a former Democrat MP who recently resigned, whose pinpointing of Nostitz triggered the assault,” the statement said.

“It is doubly serious that Nostitz was wearing an armband that clearly identifies him as a journalist, in keeping with measures adopted by the larger media community on how to keep safe. In a highly charged political atmosphere such as a protest, calling on protesters to ‘chase’ a specific person believed belonging to an opposing camp is almost a direct incitement to violence.

“Meanwhile the protests in front of TV stations can be interpreted as a direct coercion for the media to report matters according to protesters’ views. These are no different from pressures faced by journalists from media owners and the state to slant news in their favour,” it said.