Steyr mayor criticises journalist’s arrest at demonstration

Steyr Mayor Markus Vogl has criticised the arrest of freelance journalist Michael Bonvalot at a gathering in the city, ORF reported. At a security meeting with police on Wednesday, Vogl said freedom of the press was a fundamental right alongside freedom of assembly and called for “confidence-building measures” from police.

Vogl was referring to an incident on Sunday at a gathering of the so-called “walkers” in Steyr. In a statement from the city, he said the police assessment had “once again” given the impression that different standards were being applied.

The mayor said the gatherings had been held for years and had recently taken place for the 300th time. He said Steyr had thereby become a “point of contact for groups hostile to democracy,” naming Gottfried Küssel and Ken Jebsen. Vogl said police had so far seen no grounds to ban the gatherings.

Vogl said Bonvalot had shown a valid press card and intended to report from about 50 metres away. He described the journalist’s arrest in those circumstances as “hard to stomach” and said he could not simply move on. Although he said the city generally worked well with police, he called the impression that police assessments did not apply equally to everyone “unacceptable” and said it undermined trust in the force.

Bonvalot said he attended the gathering with a security employee. After some participants recognised him, he said, they increasingly crowded him. Police then told him the assembly’s leader felt disturbed by his presence and that he should leave, according to Bonvalot.

Bonvalot said officers took him away using what he described as a painful hold. After checking his identification and bag, police warned him he would be arrested if he came near the gathering again, he said. When he later tried to report from the event again, he was arrested and spent several hours at the police detention centre in Steyr. He said he would take legal action over the police conduct.