Press Release: InvestigateWest photog detained, again

Contacts: Daniel Lathrop 206-718-0349

InvestigateWest photographer detained in Copenhagen

SEATTLE -- A  journalist on assignment for InvestigateWest to cover protests outside the United Nations climate negotiations in Copenhagen was arrested Tuesday -- the second time he has been arrested while photographing demonstrators. This time, demonstrators were attempting to enter Copenhagen’s Bella Center, the site of the international climate talks.

Christopher Crow of Bellingham was taken into custody by police, who are empowered under a new law to hold demonstrators for up to 12 hours without filing charges. He was arrested at about Noon local time and remained in custody as of 6 PM local time.

Crow was previously arrested Sunday and released after 3 ½ hours without any charges being filed.

In both cases, the officers took Crow away despite the fact that he is a credentialed journalist carrying out his duty as to document the unrest in the streets and not a participant in the demonstrations. Demonstrators are angry about an emerging United Nations treaty that would allow some companies to profit from fighting climate change.

After his first arrest, InvestigateWest executive director and editor Rita Hibbard had issued the following statement:

"This is an outrageous affront to the freedom of the press. Reporters are obligated to cover civil disturbances like the protests in Copenhagen, and police who arrest journalists are violating their human rights. Christopher and InvestigateWest are owed an apology by the Danish authorities and we will be filing a formal protest."

Members of the InvestigateWest team in Copenhagen available for interviews via Skype.  Chief environmental correspondent Robert McClure, who is editing the Copenhagen coverage, is available for phone or in-person interviews.

For coverage of Chris' arrest and other news from Copenhagen, please see https://www.invw.org/tags/COP15

InvestigateWest is a non-profit investigative journalism  organization based in Seattle. Its journalists are working to modernize investigative and in-depth journalism, focusing on the environment, public health and social justice in western North America, with a particular emphasis on the Pacific Northwest. InvestigateWest also offers a daily environmental blog, Dateline Earth, that covers a wide range of environmental issues around the globe, frequently including news about climate change.

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