ABU DHABI: The UAE on Tuesday said two Swiss journalists had been “stopped for questioning” after the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi last week but declined to confirm their arrest.
The statement comes after Swiss public broadcaster RTS said two of its journalists, accredited to cover the opening, were arrested on Thursday while shooting images in an outdoor market and held for two days.
The National Media Council, the UAE’s media regulatory body, on Tuesday released a statement saying reporter Serge Enderlin and cameraman Jon Bjorgvinsson had been “stopped for questioning” in an industrial area of Abu Dhabi and later released without charge.
“After the official opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, police witnessed the journalists trespassing at a secured location in Mussaffah and stopped them for questioning,” the council said, without providing a date or further details.
“Police later transported the reporters for further questioning at the police station and subsequently released them without charge.”
An Emirati official declined to confirm the duration of the questioning and said no official arrest had taken place.
RTS earlier said Enderlin and Bjorgvinsson, who arrived in the UAE early last week, were held for more than 50 hours, with no possibility to communicate with the outside world.
The broadcaster said the journalists were interrogated for up to nine hours at a time, blindfolded as they were shuttled between different locations.
It reported their camera, computers, hard drives and other material were confiscated.
Enderlin and Bjorgvinsson said authorities were focused on wanting to know why they were shooting images in the marketplace, seemingly angered by the fact that Pakistani workers had been filmed.
The Louvre Abu Dhabi was officially inaugurated on Wednesday and opened its doors to the public on Saturday. It is the first museum to carry the famed French name outside of France.
UAE says Swiss reporters ‘stopped for questioning’ after Louvre launch
UAE says Swiss reporters ‘stopped for questioning’ after Louvre launch
EU, UK call on Israel to stop settler attacks on Palestinians in West Bank
- Israeli human rights group: ‘These criminal and deadly attacks are carried out with the backing of the state’
- EU spokesperson: ‘Impunity for such acts risks provoking further violence’
LONDON: Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank must cease attacks on local Palestinians, Western politicians have said.
The UK and EU both condemned the rise in settler violence since the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Iran on Feb. 28.
Six Palestinians have been killed by settlers in the 12 days since the start of the war, according to the UN.
Israeli human rights group Yesh Din said it had recorded 109 separate incidents of violence committed by settlers at 62 sites in the West Bank during the war’s opening 10 days. Both the UK and EU urged Israeli authorities to halt further attacks.
Three Palestinians died on Sunday in the village of Khirbet Abu Falah after armed settlers attacked it with guns before dawn, Reuters reported.
Palestinian health authorities said local residents Thaer Hamayel, 24, and his cousin, Farea Hamayel, 57, both died after being shot in the head.
A third man, Mohammed Murra, 55, died after going into cardiac arrest, having inhaled tear gas fired by the Israeli military.
The previous day, 28-year-old Amir Shanaran died after being shot by settlers at Wadi Al-Rakhim, local health authorities said. His brother Khaled Shanaran was seriously wounded.
On March 2, Mohammed Azem, 51, and his brother Fahim, 47, were shot dead by settlers at Qaryut, Israeli human rights group B’Tselem said.
In a statement, Yesh Din said: “These criminal and deadly attacks are carried out with the backing of the state and almost complete impunity, advancing Israel’s objective of forcibly displacing Palestinians and annexing the West Bank.”
Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein Al-Sheikh on Sunday denounced the “major escalation of settler terrorism.”
An EU spokesperson said “impunity for such acts risks provoking further violence,” and called on Israel to “abide by its obligations under international law to protect the Palestinian population in the occupied territory.”
The UK’s consulate-general in Jerusalem said in a statement that the Israeli military must respond to settler violence with “swift, thorough investigations and accountability for those responsible,” adding: “Settler violence which terrorises communities must be stop
