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19.09.08 - Vietnam : AP reporter arrested and beaten by police

Reporters Without Borders condemns the arrest and mistreatment of Associated Press Hanoi bureau chief Ben Stocking by police while he was covering a peaceful demonstration by Vietnamese Catholics today in Hanoi. A video of his arrest clearly shows police officers forcing him to leave the site of the demonstration. Stocking said the police took his camera and, when he asked for it back, hit him on the head with it and punched him in the face. He spent two and a half hours in a police station and need four stitches to his head afterwards. The Associated Press has asked the Vietnamese authorities to apologise and return Stocking’s camera.