Producer and journalist arrested in Miami taking pictures!

[schultzee]

TAKE ACTION - DEMOCRACY NOW! PRODUCER ARRESTED BY MIAMI POLICE!

Make the phone calls/emails below and demand the immediate release of Democracy Now! producer Ana Nogueira

At approx. 5 pm Friday evening, Nov. 21, Democracy Now! producers Ana Nogueira and Jeremy Scahill were reporting on the arrest of approximately 20 people who were in Miami to oppose the Free Trade Area of the Americas.

Nogueira and Scahill had their press credentials clearly visible. Nogueira was videotaping the arrests. At the time of this writing, Nogueira was being held, handcuffed, in a Miami Police patrol wagon. Jeremy Scahill has learned that there will be a mandatory overnight detention. According to Scahill, his efforts to alert the police that they had arrested a journalist were met with the reply, "It doesn't matter if she's a journalist - she shouldn't have been there."


CALL NOW and demand that the Mayors of Miami City and Miami-Dade County restrain their police from further violence and violation of constitutional rights. RELEASE Democracy Now! journalist Ana Noguira IMMEDIATELY.

For news and updates see http://www.ftaaimc.org and http://democracynow.org

ACTION:

Call/Email These Authorities:
FTAA Miami Unified Command
Joint Information Center
Phone: [phone]

Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas
Director of Communications Lynn Norman-Teck
Cell: 786-256-4395
Pager: 305-291-0358
[e-mail]

City of Miami
Mayor Manuel A. Diaz
Telephone: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Janet Lopez, Director Office of Communications
Phone: [phone]
Pager:305-312-2981

Send a cc: to [e-mail]


To unsubscribe from this list click this link or paste the url into a web browser
http://www.democracynow.org/maillist.pl?op=removeme&email=[e-mail]&emailid=14877

[deutsey]

1. UPDATE

DEMOCRACY NOW! SPECIAL ALERT

was arrested Friday evening while covering the FTAA protests in Miami. We thank
the listeners and viewers who responded to our action alert last night and
called officials demanding her release. She was released early Saturday
morning. For full coverage on the FTAA protests tune into Democracy Now!]

Early this morning I was sitting in a jail cell in Miami, cold, hungry and
trying to ignore the cockroaches crawling on the floor of the cell. My clothes
had been taken away from me and thrown out because they reeked of pepper spray.

I was arrested because I had not embedded myself with the Police Department
before doing my job of covering the protests for the nationally syndicated
public radio and tv program Democracy Now! Instead, I was swept up late Friday
afternoon with about 70 others as we tried to obey an order to disperse from an
"unlawful" jail solidarity rally.

Mine is not an isolated case. Four other independent reporters were arrested
with me and three of them remain in jail: Jeanette Lee and Michael Medow, both
of Michigan Independent Media Center, as well as an IMC reporter who goes by
the name of Winter. Todd Price, a Madison, WI, journalist who was formerly the
executive director of community television station WYOU, was arrested with me
but has been released.

In addition, Justin Lipson of the NYC IMC Video Team was arrested on Thursday
and is being held on a $10,000 bond. Police smashed his camera and have charged
him with two felonies. Miami New Times staff writer Celeste Fraser Delgado was
also arrested on Thursday while trying to interview protesters. Her purse and
press credentials were left at the scene of her arrest.

I am out now thanks entirely to the pressure that Democracy Now! supporters and
staff put on the jail to release me. If not for all the emails and phone calls
the police received demanding my immediate release, I would still be there.
However, I am still facing charges and will most likely have to return to Miami
to appear in court.

I thank everyone who stood up for the right of independent media today and
contacted the jail urging them to release me. But there is more we need to do.
Our colleagues in Miami are receiving disturbing reports of ongoing abuse of
prisoners inside the jail, including severe beatings, being held in a cold room
with no toilet, getting cold-showered every two hours. People of color and
transgender people feel that they were specifically targeted. We must all act
now to demand that the torture stop and all charges against the journalists be
dropped.

Please, tell everyone you possibly can to call the numbers below to demand the
release of Jeanette Lee, Michael Medow, Winter, and Justin Lipson, the dropping
of all charges against journalists, and the fair treatment of all prisoners.

-- Ana Nogueira, Democracy Now! producer

= = = = = = = = = =
ACTION:

Call/Email These Authorities:

Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center (TGK)
305-470-7636 or 305-470-7600 (Press 2 for TGK, then 7 for booking or 9 for shift
commander)

The Joint Task Force on Law Enforcement
Major Role (cell): 305-216-6594

FTAA Miami Unified Command Joint Information Center
Phone: [phone]

Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas
[e-mail]

City of Miami Mayor Manuel A. Diaz
Telephone: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Janet Lopez, Director Office of Communications
Phone: [phone]
Pager:305-312-2981

= = = = = = = = =
Tune in to Democracy Now! Radio & TV on Monday for a complete report:
http://www.democracynow.org

[proud patriot]

2. Kick

:kick:

[deutsey]

3. Please take a moment and write

It does matter. Amnesty International can attest to that.