I'm a Photographer, Not a Terrorist! goes into print

A pamphlet giving a history of the I'm a Photographer, Not A Terrorist! campaign for photographers' rights has been published.

It documents the way the campaign has protested against harassment of photographers trying to take pictures in public places by the police and private security guards.

Photographer Marc Vallée, talking at the launch of the pamphlet at the AoP Gallery in London, told how the campaign started after a small group of London-based photographers who covered political protest in Britain found themselves under surveillance by the Metropolitan Police Forward Intelligence Unit.

He said from this small beginning the campaign had mobilised professional and amateur photographers who had joined mass flashmob protests in Trafalgar Square, Canary Wharf and outside Scotland Yard and London's City Hall.

Vallée said harassment of photographers was still an issue. The pamphlet says: "As photographers working in public places, we are still treated with a suspicion that is undeserved and not experienced by most citizens going about their daily business.

"The unjust laws need to be challenged, as do the private security guards who routinely prevent us from working. We must continue to defend the right to document the world around us."

The pamphlet was funded by the NUJ and the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting freedom.
It will be available to download online or you can request a free copy by sending a double stamped self-addressed envelope to Photographer Not a Terrorist, 308-312 Gray’s Inn Rd, London WC1X 8DP.