THE STREETS - REPORTER AND CREW ARRESTED IN ST. PAL

REPORTER AND CREW ARRESTED IN ST. PAL

Democracy Now! TV and radio show host Amy Goodman and her producers, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, were released in St. Paul, MN late Monday following their arrest Monday on charges of obstructing a police officer and rioting. They had been covering a demonstration by anti-war protesters at the Republican National Convention. Democracy Now! , which says its syndicated programs air on over 700 public TV and radio stations, charged that all three arrested journalists were "violently manhandled" by St. Paul police and that all three suffered injuries of various degrees. An Associated Press photographer was also arrested. The American Civil Liberties Union denounced the arrests, calling them "antithetical to the fundamental values of our democracy." In a statement, ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said, "Free speech has to be safeguarded during the Republican National Convention, as the workings of our democracy in the streets are as important as those in convention halls."

03/09/2008