Journalists Amber Bracken and Michael Toledano, arrested Friday while covering a protest against a pipeline project in northern British Columbia, were released on Monday.
“Amber has been freed […]. She will be back in court on February 14, unless the charges are dropped, ”Brent Jolly, president of the Canadian Association of Journalists, told Monday afternoon in Press.
“The documentary filmmaker [Michael Toledano] was also released, after agreeing to abide by the previous injunction of the [gazoduc Coastal GasLink] and respect the peace, ”The Narwhal, a team of investigative journalists on Canada’s natural environment, subsequently posted on Twitter. He is also due to appear in February.
Their arrest by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) sparked outrage in the Canadian media. In an open letter made public Monday morning, dozens of media, including Press, addressed the Minister of Public Security, Marco Mendicino, to request their release.
“The RCMP said the reason for their arrest was that they ‘integrated’ with the protesters, which has never been illegal in Canada,” the letter read.
The two reporters were first detained at Smithers and then transferred to Prince George on Saturday. They appeared on Monday.
Arrest
According to the open letter signed by the Canadian media, Amber Bracken was on a mission for The Narwhal, while Michael Toledano, who has lived in Wet’suwet’en for three years, was present to create a documentary called Yintah, which will be broadcast in 2022.
For its part, the RCMP indicates having discovered in a forest road near the municipality of Houston “obstructions, barricades, two structures resembling buildings as well as a pile of firewood directly around a drilling site. “.
According to the RCMP, the officers asked the demonstrators to leave the scene or face arrest. Faced with their refusal, they were handcuffed to the wrists of eleven people, including “two individuals who subsequently identified themselves as independent journalists”.
Four more people were arrested a few dozen kilometers away.