Afrasoanet - Author: Natasha Lennard - Journalist blatantly charged with hate crime for covering a pro-Gaza protest march is a clear attempt to suppress journalistic activities and pro-Palestine rhetoric.

The American magazine "The Intercept" publishes an article by writer Natasha Leonard, in which she talks about the efforts practiced by American authorities to suppress journalistic activities and pro-Palestine speech, most notably the arrest of a photojournalist in New York City on charges of committing a hate crime against the background of his presence during a pro-Palestine protest march and documenting it.

Below is the text of the article transferred to Arabic:

In a flagrant violation of press freedoms and activity protected under the First Amendment, a photojournalist was arrested in New York City on charges of committing a hate crime for being present during and documenting a pro-Palestine protest march..

According to the charges, Sam Seligson, a certified freelance photojournalist, filmed a small group of people on June June writing pro-Palestine and anti-Zionist slogans on the walls of the home of the director and president of the Brooklyn Museum and two museum officials..

The messages and slogans written on the walls of the houses accuse museum officials of complicity in the Israel's genocidal war on the Gaza Strip. A week earlier, the museum called in police to carry out a mass arrest of protesters gathered inside the building..

No one assumes that private graffiti is legal under New York law. Seligson was not charged with graffiti or vandalizing any property. However, he faces charges of a criminal act, which has been reinforced as a hate crime; another person who allegedly transported participants to and from the homes of museum officials faces charges of hate crime. Police are still searching for four alleged participants..

The fact that one of the graffiti participants faces criminal charges is not surprising. However, classifying these acts as a hate crime is in itself a troubling transgression. The home of the director of the Brooklyn Museum, Anne Pasternak, was targeted not because she was Jewish, but because of the museum's management's treatment of Gaza-solidarity protesters. The other homes targeted do not belong to the Jewish people..

Persons who may oppose the nature of the methods used cannot reasonably claim that the act was aimed at individuals because they were Jewish. The targets were the homes of individuals in leadership positions in an institution that had been the site of anti-war protests..

The suggestion that the Brooklyn Museum's ties to Israel and its military-industrial complex somehow confer Jewish identity on the institution's officials is a particularly insulting version of the common and pernicious confusion between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism..

But the reasons behind doing so are clear. The charge of committing a hate crime is among the myriad repressive efforts to treat Palestinian solidarity as de facto anti-Semitism; therefore, it is transformed into de jure anti-Semitism..

Promoting hate crime is pretty bad. Proving exaggerated hate crime charges against the journalist covering the incident is worrying; it is outrageous. No one claims to have participated in graffiti and is accused simply of moving around with protest participants and documenting their activities..

Robert Palin, the lawyer who defended photojournalists arrested by the NYPD during the George Floyd protests, said: "If he is accused of travelling with people participating in the protests to document the event, this is not a crime, it is journalistic." Palin stressed the possibility that more information related to this case will emerge to complicate the story, saying: "If the facts are as portrayed, that is, he did not actually participate in the main events, then bringing criminal charges against him is very worrying.".

So far, prosecutors have not been able to prove Silligson's existence that day, and Seligson and his lawyer have not commented on whether he attended. But he will not be the first photojournalist to accompany people engaged in political or other illegal activities, including graffiti on private property for documentary purposes..

A security official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that Seligson "was not directly involved in graffiti or property damage." Thus, there is no doubt that he is arrested solely on charges of documenting the event..

According to Selegson's lawyer, Lina Wiedi, the criminal case against the journalist "does not allege any specific conduct attributed to him outside the protest venue, which is fully consistent with his role as a journalist documenting protests or other activities."".

Wiedi told me that "the state did not provide any credible evidence that he was indeed present at the place of the demonstration. Even if he was there, no claims were made that he participated in any activity beyond mere attendance.".

Involvement in hate crimes

There is no law requiring journalists, or any private person, to act as police informants if they are at the scene of a crime..

On the contrary, there is a specific public interest in ensuring that press crew can respond to hints and cover events without fear that they too will face prosecution for their continued presence in the field. The right to monitor and prove illegal behaviour without considering it complicity should not be restricted to journalists..

A Freedom of the Press Foundation advocacy group wrote on X: "It's very worrying! Police and prosecutors have invented many twisted theories to criminalize journalism." "Accusing a reporter of a hate crime for documenting the news should be one of the most egregious charges ever leveled.".

The charges against Seligson can have a chilling impact on journalistic activity, as a media worker documenting an illegal incident appears to expose the journalist to criminal liability. Seligson should not face any kind of charge, let alone serious hate crimes charges for covering an event that should not in itself be considered a hate crime..

Sellison's lawyer, Wede, explained: "It appears to be a clear attempt to suppress journalistic activities and pro-Palestine rhetoric. The accusations imply the belief that any support for Israel is inevitably synonymous with Judaism, which is clearly untrue and extremely dangerous.".

Moira Meltzer-Cohen, a lawyer for someone accused of leading the protests, said: "I don't think any of these charges are enough to qualify it as a hate crime." Her client also faces several charges related to criminal acts classified as hate crimes..

Meltzer-Cohen said she could not speak directly about the Seglison case, but generally expressed serious concerns about possible precedents that could arise if journalists were threatened with prosecution for documenting prohibited activities..

Meltzer Cohen also told me: "In this community, we look forward to the possibility of documenting illegal behavior, particularly illegal political behavior and prohibited cosmetic procedures. I don't think anyone would have expected this activity to be classified as a hate crime, and I don't think anyone would have expected a journalist to be implicated in these charges.".

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office reported that people facing hate crime charges are accused of "vandalizing these homes, supporting Palestinian resistance in the face of Israel, and using a popular symbol of Palestinian resistance and unity Arabic".

It should be noted that under the First and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution and under the New York Shield Act, which protects reporters from having to disclose confidential sources or material, professional journalists are not legally obliged to share any information with police or prosecutors related to participants in events they may cover, even those involving illegal behavior..

If Seligson's arrest and accusation of illogical and exaggerated matters is an attempt to force the journalist to provide any information about the incident, police and prosecutors have already set a dangerous and repressive precedent, whether or not the charges are proven..

Transferred to Arabic: Zeinab Menem