Improve the relationship of police and press.

In 2021, 119 alerts were recorded in Germany, involving a total of 223 attacked persons or entities related to media. Again, the country is by far at the top of the EU Member States and Candidates countries in terms of reporting. While the high number of alerts can partly be explained by the strength of the MFRR net‐ work in Germany, it clearly confirms a trend in the deterioration of press and media freedom, especially when it comes to the coverage of demonstrations, as repeatedly emphasised by the MFRR. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of violent protests multiplied and the frequent participation of hooligans and right-wing extremists in such anti-COVID rallies led to various attacks. With 92 violations, over 77% of the alerts took place during protests. In the vast majority of cases, attacks were carried out by private individuals (63.9%,76 alerts). Cit‐ izens’ low regard towards the journalistic profession and decreasing trust in tradi‐ tional media are certainly correlated with the increase in violence. The most common types of attacks dur‐ ing protests were physical assault, with a total of 35 alerts, 8 of which resulted in injury, and intimidation/threat with 31 alerts. Threat to equipment (20, insult and abuse (11, and harassment (9, were also frequently recorded incidents in this context. While the majority (68 of these violent demonstrations were against COVID-19 measures and vaccination, right-wing extremist and leftist protests emerged to be hazardous as well. Acts of police violence against media workers were recorded especially during left-wing and climate activists’ demonstrations (18 alerts). 

At demonstrations, private individuals were the source of 69 alerts. Journalists were often attacked by protesters who consider traditional media as messengers of the government’s propaganda and en‐ emies of their movement. Particularly during Querdenker demonstrations, media workers were intimidated and insulted, their equipment hit, and physically assaulted. In one brutal incident, two journalistswere beaten up by neo-Nazis in December during a Querdenker demonstration in Berlin. In August, the regional manager of the German Journalists Union in Berlin Brandenburg, Jörg Reichel, was assaulted and injured by Querdenker demonstrators. Previously, Reichel’s name and photo had circulated in relevant Telegram chan nels. It is well known that Reichel reports on attacks against press freedom, particularly during protests across Germany, via Twitter. His outspoken support for media workers made him a visible target for proponents of anti-media sentiment. Because of this hostile environment, me‐ dia teams now often go to such demonstrations with security guards. While this might create a safer environment for journalists, the MFRR also recorded six cases where those accompanied by security staff were attacked. Antisemitic slurs or attacks and several recorded of‐ fensives by right-wing extremists further demonstrate what kind of mindsets lead to aggressions against the press. Also, politicians from the right-wing AfD and the centre-right CDU party reportedly discredited, insulted, and excluded journ‐ alists from reporting. Police or state security were the source of 27 press freedom violations in Germany in 2021. 23 of these alerts were recorded during protests, which confirms that the police frequently respond inappropriately to media workers’ presence at demonstrations. Journalists, media companies, and journalists unions have been raising this issue for a long time: Strategic de-es‐ calation and unhindered press work are desirable, in contrast to the reported physical violence, tedious press card checks, and journalists’ expulsions. Better police training for such chaotic environments and mutual understanding between media workers and police are vital to improve the situation. Initiatives on how to better protect journalists and to improve the relationship of police and press have been developed. The Police Codex developed by ECPMF defines directives to be used by the police when dealing with journalists in all EU member states and has been published in German, English, and French. Furthermore, Germany’s Journalists Union and Association developed the code of conduct for media houses and an informative flyer for police officers.