On Tuesday the Mongolian “Globe International” NGO sent a letter to M. Ganbold, Chairman of the General Police Office demanding that they take these cases very seriously and bring charges against the police officers who broke the right of the journalists.

On October 28, the civil movements’ representatives closed a central intersection in Ulaanbaatar for 10 hours in order to release the Free Elder’s Association Leader G. Baasan from detainment. Around 1am October 29, police attacked against the movements’ representatives while they were standing around a ger which had been constructed in the intersection.

According to Odriin Sonin newspaper’s journalist B. Khajidmaa, she came on the road under the call of the photo journalist of Odriin sonin, who was working on the road for take photo of the activity of movements around over midnight with another journalist of the newspaper. They met with many police officers are running in two lines to the protesters, she told Moninfo Tuesday.

“Suddenly we saw that the police were dragging representatives of the movements and first G. Arslan, the leader of the “Fair Citizen’s front” movement from road to police vehicle and second O. Bum-Yalagch,  the leader of the Green Party and third was one of our journalists G. Erdenebat while next one was our photo journalist Ya. Arinjinbaatar.”

“Arinjinbaatar tried to give his camera to me, but the police grabbed it and destroyed it, leaving only one picture of the brutality,” Khajidmaa said.

Erdenbat said, “The police caught us in force and took some testimony or explanation about what we were doing in the movement and released us around 4 a.m.”

The journalists explained that they hadn’t got any chance to explain they are journalists to polices and polices were beaten them and caught them in force.

However police denied using any extra force.

A. Davaakhuu, Chairman of the Public Relation department of the general Police Office told MonInfo, “The police stopped the demonstration in the frame of the valid laws and rules. It is true the journalists were caught with the people who broke the law on administrative cases because the police could not know who is journalist.”

A senior police official who was involved in the case spoke on condition of anonymity, citing protesters actions as breaking the law.

“It is not possible the police caught only journalists from Odriin Sonin. But the police have the right to grab them as they are citizens because who were involved in a protesting demonstration. The movement’s activity was illegal activity. The police have the right to detain people who break the law.”  

Odriin Sonin newspaper called a press conference on Monday and they put a demand to authorities to stop the activity against the right of journalists.