Demonstrations Continue During Democratic Convention in Chicago
Demonstrations by groups demanding an end to US support for Israel have had a major impact in Chicago since the Democratic Party Convention began on Monday. The protest, which was held in front of the Israeli Consulate in Chicago on Tuesday evening and was attended by hundreds of people, drew attention to the harsh interventions of police forces against demonstrators and some members of the press.
While trying to record the detention of Sinna Nasseri, Olga Federova and another unnamed member of the press, AA cameraman Mostafa Bassim was intervened by the police. After a brief scuffle, Bassim managed to escape detention at the last minute by repeatedly saying “I am a member of the press.”
Bassim, who shared his experiences regarding the incident, made the following statements: “We were covering the demonstration in front of the Israeli Consulate last night. There were moments when the police and the prosecutors were face to face. There were probably thousands of police. At one point, the police started to act quite aggressively towards the journalists “At first, the police told the press to leave the area, but there was nowhere to go. Then they started to get really aggressive and detained some journalists.”
Bassim stated that the police were squeezing the demonstrators from both sides, and that this situation caused some people to have difficulty breathing. He also emphasized that the Chicago police had aimed to intimidate the members of the press who were following the events from the first day. It was reported that during the protests in front of the Israeli Consulate, where the police took extensive security measures and did not allow the demonstrators to march, there were scuffles between some demonstrators and the police.
Afterwards, the police intervened harshly against the demonstrators, dragging many demonstrators on the ground and detaining them. It was reported that 3 members of the press were also detained during this process. The police’s harsh interventions against the demonstrators were captured on camera, and these images garnered a huge backlash on social media.
