Foreign Media Union Slams Israel Strip-Search Demand
Israel's foreign media union condemned a demand for a photographer to submit to a strip search before entering Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Monday.
"The Foreign Press Association is disturbed and disappointed to hear once again that a photographer covering an event today with the prime minister was asked to take part in a humiliating security check before being allowed to attend," the FPA said in a statement.
Atef Safadi, a journalist with the European Pressphoto Agency, was attending as the FPA representative to take photos of a meeting between Netanyahu and French Prime Minister Manuel Valls that would have been shared between media.
Before entering he was asked to remove his clothes as part of a security check, a request he refused.
As a result he left, resulting in no photos for foreign media of the event, including AFP.
"The FPA again calls on security agencies to respect the right of journalists at such events, who already hold Israeli government press accreditation," the statement added.
Israel's media status was downgraded from free to partly free last month by a U.S.-based watchdog, Freedom House.
Source: Agence France Presse
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