WASHINGTON, August 19 (RIA Novosti), Lyudmila Chernova - The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by the attacks and arrests of journalists, covering demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri, the organization said in the statement.
"We are concerned by the detention and harassment of reporters, trying to cover the news in Ferguson," said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney.
"Journalists have a right to work freely on the streets of any American city, and the authorities in Ferguson have a duty to ensure that they can do so there too," Mahoney added.
The protests have been ongoing in Ferguson for over a week now. They have been touched off by the shooting of unarmed 18-year-old black teen Michael Brown by a police officer. The teenager was said to have been suspected in a convenience-store robbery and allegedly resisted his arrest. US President Barack Obama ordered the FBI and the Department of Justice to join the investigation.
Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery and Huffington Post reporter Ryan J. Reilly were taken into custody by local police on late Wednesday as they were working on their coverage of the demonstrations at Ferguson McDonalds.
Some police officers have also been captured on video threatening to shoot one journalist and mace another.
