UPDATE – 22:00: Later on April 22nd Gaspard Glanz was released from custody and announced to the press that he had been given a ban on entering Paris.
?(1/2) Premières réactions de Gaspard Glanz (@GaspardGlanz) à sa sortie du TGI. Il annonce notamment que malgré l’interdiction, il continuera de couvrir les manifestations des #GiletsJaunes les samedis et la manif du 1er mai. #GaspardGlanz #FreeGaspard pic.twitter.com/tPtYlKX94Q
— Charles Baudry (@CharlesBaudry) April 22, 2019
Since Saturday afternoon, April 20th, the journalist Gaspard Glanz has been held in police custody.
What happened? On Saturday, April 21st, Gaspard Glanz covered the demonstration of the Yellow Vests, which had been encircled – i.e., blocked and prevented from exiting Place de la République. Remember that this method is prohibited and has been condemned by the courts.
In the afternoon, Mr. Glanz told the photographer “NnoMan”, who was present and spoke to “Reporterre”, “that he had been hit by a grenade and that his trousers were lightly burned at the place of the impact” .
Later, Mr. Glanz sought to speak to the Commissioner to complain about being shot by a grenade. As is shown in the video below, the reporter is not able to speak to the Commissioner, he is violently pushed by a police officer, and in an angry reflex, he makes a middle finger gesture. The police then rush towards him and take him away.
Gaspard Glanz has been in police custody since Saturday night at 80 Avenue Daumesnil, in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, and has been in custody for more than 24 hours. He was still in custody on Monday, April 22nd, at 9:40 at the time of writing.
According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, interviewed by “Reporterre”, Mr. Glanz was placed in police custody “on the count of participating in a conspiracy to commit degrading and outrage to a person in charge of public authority”.
“Participation in a conspiracy to commit degradation” is an intrusive qualification on freedom of the press. Gaspard Glanz, director of the agency “Taranis News” and who has collaborated several times with “Reporterre”, is a recognised video reporter in the profession of journalism. He has covered the demonstrations and actions of the police for a long time, and has also covered the “jungle of Calais” . He has been repeatedly prosecuted by the authorities, the real reason for this relentlessness being the quality of his information, which has greatly contributed to making the public aware of the multiplication of police violence.
A support rally was organised on Monday morning in front of the police station. “Reporterre” was present, and condemns this attack on the freedom of the press. Condemnation was also expressed by the National Union of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, and the Paris Bar (the professional organisation of lawyers).
On Saturday, April 20th, the journalist/photographer Alexis Kraland was also detained for eight hours. On the same day, the journalist Tristan Goldbronn was brutalised by the police.
#FreeGaspard : la compagne du journaliste annonce qu’il “va être déféré au parquet” à l’issue de sa garde à vue. Des huées. pic.twitter.com/rUmhwxiBkL
— simon louvet (@LouvetSimon) 22 April 2019
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