Germany: BILD reporter Iman Sefati threatened with a knife at private residence
On 26 July 2024, Iman Sefati, journalist for the BILD newspaper, was ambushed and threatened with a knife after he spent the day reporting on a peaceful demonstration in Berlin. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its German affiliates, dju in ver.di and the German Journalists Association (DJV), in condemning this violent attack and calling for legal action against the perpetrators.
Iman Sefati was covering the Dyke March, a demonstration in favor of lesbian visibility in Berlin-Neukölln as a video reporter. Later that day, as the reporter was about to leave his private residence, he was approached by a man in black, accompanied by a young woman, before pulling a knife from his pocket and threatening Sefati. Both of them were filmed and seen observing the journalist’s residence earlier in the day. The attack was cut short by surrounding disturbances, leaving the journalist unharmed.
The suspected perpetrators have been recognised by the journalist, one of them being a well-known activist “from the radical left-wing spectrum”, according to Sefati’s declarations to the press. “The attack has to do with my work in the last few months”, the journalist added.
“The knife attack on Iman Sefati is a barbaric act against our colleague and against the internationally recognized fundamental right of freedom of the press. We demand that the attacker be punished with the full force of the law. All those who see journalists as the enemy must know that the state and society will not shrug off attacks on reporters,“ the DJV press spokesman Hendrik Zörner told the European Federation of Journalists.
“This incident is a frightening example of the increasing dangers that journalists are exposed to in the performance of their work. Freedom of the press is an indispensable asset in our democracy and must under no circumstances be threatened by intimidation and violence,” declared dju state chairwoman Renate Gensch.
Earlier this year, Iman Sefati was already verbally assaulted, beaten and threatened with a knife in a demonstration in Berlin. Sefati’s attacks echoes the unprecedented level of threats on journalists covering demonstrations, with eighteen recorded by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR). Nevertheless, this is the first time that a journalist has been assaulted in a private environment.
“Systematic attacks against journalists for covering demonstrations can no longer persist. This attack goes even further as it was perpetrated in front of the journalist’s home, violating his privacy with intolerable impunity. The EFJ stands in solidarity with Iman Sefati and all journalists threatened for doing their jobs. Journalists’ security must actively be ensured both by the authorities and the media outlets”, said EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez”.
