Qatar officials have apologised after a broadcast journalist's live TV report was interrupted amid threats to break his camera.
Danish journalist Rasmus Tantholdt was delivering a live report for broadcaster TV2 with his camera crew next to a Doha roundabout when footage shows Qatari officials driving a golf buggy approach. One of them tried to grab the camera, putting his hand over the lens, while two other people also exited the buggy.
Danish station TV2 said on its website: “The team was bluntly told that if they didn’t stop filming, their cameras would be destroyed. This is despite the fact that TV2’s team has acquired the correct accreditations and reported from a public place.”
"We are live on Danish television," the journalist said during the live report. "Mister, you invited the whole world to come here, why can't we film? It's a public place."
Another clip shows the reporter displaying his accreditation to film in the country, which the officials did not accept, saying he still needed permission.
One of the officials grabbed the camera again, with Tantholdt approaching him. He appears to say something to the reporter, who responds: "You want to break the camera? Ok you can break the camera. So you are threatening us by smashing the camera?"
The clip has since gone viral, with many condemning the actions of the Qatar officials on Tuesday. The Middle Eastern country has strict, repressive laws on free speech, with zero independent media companies based there, the Mirror reports.
Mr Tantholdt has since confirmed on Twitter: "We now got an apology from Qatar International Media Office and from Qatar Supreme Commitee. This is what happened when we were broadcasting live for TV2 from a roundabout in Doha. But will it happen to other media as well?"
The Supreme Committee for the Delivery and Legacy of the World Cup had made assurances that officials would be taking a more relaxed approach to the country's oppressive laws during the World Cup, which kicks off this Sunday when hosts Qatar play Ecuador.
But Tandtholdt told Norwegian outlet NRK: "I don't think the message from the top in Qatar has reached all the security guards. Therefore, one can argue that there are some who have misunderstood the situation. But at the same time it tells a lot about what it is like in Qatar. There it is that you can be attacked and threatened when you report as a free media. This is not a free and democratic country. My experience after visiting 110 countries in the world is: The more you have to hide, the more difficult it is to report from there."
Last year, two of NRK's own journalists were arrested and imprisoned for around 30 hours amid claims they had been filming on private land before they were released and sent back to Norway.
Campaign group Reporters Without Borders has previously raised concerns over the restrictions being placed on journalists travelling to Qatar for the World Cup. “The Qatari authorities are misusing the accreditation system for journalists in order to ban them from covering certain subjects," RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said last month. “By requiring that the media, when they apply for accreditation, agree to abide by a number of conditions, some of which are vague, ambiguous, and open to arbitrary interpretation, Qatar is clearly seeking to discourage, if not prevent, the foreign media from talking about anything other than football.”
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