One of the most controversial points included in the coming reform of the law dealing with Citizen Safety appears a little sinister, some feel.
Basically it will become illegal to “capture, reproduce or process images, sounds or other data on member of the security forces (police) whilst carrying out their duty, when it could put at risk their lives or the operation that they are performing.”
In other words, and to put it bluntly, if during a street demonstration you record with you phone camera, for instance, a riot policeman beating the crap out of somebody on the floor, you would be committing a crime.
The Ministry for Justice said that this law would mainly be about controlling individuals, rather than the press, which is where the proposed bill becomes even more controversial because it means that TV channels and press photographers could also be liable to arrest.
The law reform started out as an idea to be able to fine demonstrators who took part in street protests with their faces covered and wearing hoods, but after the protests on the 25th September, when the social media called for people to “surround the Parliament,” ending in a controversial police charge, the Government decide to include other ‘facets.’
Yet not everybody in a crowd with masks over their faces and a hood covering their heads was a violent protesters, because more that one TV crew or press photographer captured on film how some of those involved in the front line pushing and shoving amongst the crowd were police infiltrators: there is one scene where a group of riot police are about to lay into a man on the ground with another man kneeling over him, when the latter says very audible, “He’s a colleague, he’s a colleague; ” a member of the police force. At this point the police instead of beating the crap of him, help him to his feet and lead him back to the parked police vans.
It also appears that the reason that several protestors resorted to taking snap shots of the riot policemen’s faces was that none of them was wearing an identification number, which they must do. Consequently, when they found that a policeman was, let’s say, using unnecessary force and the protestors wanted to denounce it, there was no way of identifying the police officer, so they started trying to get face shots, which earned them more that a few blows, as well. Hence, perhaps, this new law.
The fact of the matter is that with modern mobile telephones, there are thousands of people recording what is going on and putting the footage on the Net – TV film crews are becoming almost obsolete, and it this super abundance of recorded images of demonstrations that the Government is allegedly trying to eliminate.
However, when there are more injured policemen after a protest than injured demonstrators (as was the case in September) it should bring it home that it’s not all about police brutality and unaccountability.
(News: Spain)