Wednesday, October 18, 2006

And While On The Topic Of Monsters...

Following the Reuters Fauxtography scandal, another of the press agency's employees is in trouble, as Israel National News explains:
On Tuesday, a Reuters cameraman was remanded to prison until trial for his part in rock-throwing attacks on security forces in Bil'in, where the separation fence is a constant target of protesters.

The cameraman, Imad Muhammad Intisar Boghnat, was arrested and charged as a result of violent riots in the Arab village of Bil'in, in the Modi'in region, on October 6, 2006. A videotape that the prosecution presented to the judge shows Boghnat encouraging and directing rioters in Bil'in to throw large chunks of rock at Israeli vehicles in such a way as to cause maximum damage. The accused is heard shouting, "Throw, throw!" and later, "Throw towards the little window!"

This is not the first time that members of the media have taken an active role in the story. Reuters itself was accused in September 2006 of misusing press vehicles to transport Hamas-linked Palestinians, while the entire issue is best summed up by Fayad Abu Shamala, a BBC correspondent in Gaza, who declared at a Hamas rally on May 6, 2001: "Journalists and media organizations [are] waging the campaign shoulder-to-shoulder together with the Palestinian people."

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