UN calls on US police to halt the use of force against journalists covering protests

Journalists covering protests in the United States should be permitted to do their jobs without fear of attack or arrest, the United Nations human rights office said on Friday.

A mounting crackdown on reporters by authorities has been seen in recent weeks as the Trump administration has deployed federal agents to several cities where demonstrators are calling for racial justice.

And now, UN human rights spokesperson Liz Throssell has spoken out to protect the press.

“[The protests] must be able to continue without those participating in them and also the people reporting on them, the journalists, risking arbitrary arrest or detention, being subject to unnecessary disproportionate or discriminatory use of force or suffering other violations of their rights,” she said at a news conference in Geneva.