Calls on the Canadian police to release detained journalists
Canadian news organizations condemn the arrest of two journalists who were covering Indigenous-led resistance to a controversial pipeline project and remain in custody. Amber Bracken, a photojournalist who previously worked for the Guardian, and Michael Toledano, a documentary filmmaker, were arrested by Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers on Friday who were enforcing a court order. Several protesters were also arrested.
On November 19, 2021, protesters from the Wet'suwet'en Nation and the Royal Bank of Canada in Toronto, Ontario, Canada march to the Royal Bank of Canada headquarters to stop construction of the British Columbia's Coastal GasLink pipeline. REUTERS/Kyaw Soe Oo
Reporter Bracken was assigned to the environmental outlet the Narwhal, which had previously alerted police that she was in the area.
"The Narwhal is extremely disturbed by the arrest of Amber Bracken for doing her job while reporting on the events unfolding in Wet'suwet'en territory on Friday," said editor-in-chief Emma Gilchrist. “
The Canadian Association of Journalists condemned the arrests and urged the immediate release of the two journalists.
Bracken and Toledano have both spent months documenting tensions over the 670km Coastal GasLink pipeline that would transport natural gas from the north-eastern part of the province to Kitimat. A number of communities along the pipeline's proposed route have approved the project, but hereditary chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en people have refused to consent. The Wet'suwet'en have never signed a formal treaty with the provincial government and have never relinquished their land.
In a statement over the weekend, the RCMP said its officers were enforcing an injunction granted to Coastal GasLink which prohibits protesters from blocking a forest road used by construction crews.
According to the statement, police found a structure built on the service road and told people to leave after reading out the injection. Afterward, police broke down the doors of the structure and arrested 11 people, including Bracken and Toledano, who the police identified as "independent journalists."
* This article contained information that was sourced from The Guardian.
