Press photographer assaulted from Tory conference by security guards ‘after being refused entry to Liz Truss speech’ says accreditation has been ripped off and will file formal complaint
- Photographer accompanied by three guards from Tory conferentie conference hall
- Man, EPA photojournalist Tolga Akmen, can be heard saying ‘please stop’
- Officials can be heard threatening to call the police if they throw him out of the hall
- It happened at the Conservative Party conference where Liz Truss spoke today
An award-winning photographer will file a formal complaint after being assaulted and thrown from the camera Conservative Party conference hall today by guards who ‘got the wrong side of the stick’.
Tolga Akmen claims he felt singled out after being the only snapper ‘was denied entry to prime minister’s hall’ Liz Truss‘s speech’ at the ICC site in Birmingham.
The staff photojournalist at the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA) told MailOnline how he tried to find another entrance but realized he was being followed and that his description was being “forwarded to others.”
He said his accreditation was then “torn from his neck” and he was thrown out – before being forced to wait in the rain wearing only his T-shirt while another photographer fetched his equipment for him.
He said his numerous attempts to contact a press officer fell on deaf ears, and that he only got a text from the conference director when he boarded a bus back to London, claiming that security was “wrong.” had received’. off the stick.’
He added that he will “most likely” file a formal complaint.
It comes after dramatic video footage shared online on Wednesday shows Mr Akmen being escorted to an ICC exit by three guards.
Tolga Akmen pictured outside the Birmingham Venue where the Conservative Party conference took place
A bystander commented, “A photographer has just been dragged off the conference center floor by security.”
The photographer is heard begging, ‘Leave me alone. I am a member of the media. Can you please stop this?
‘What are you doing? I promise you, I didn’t do anything.’
Meanwhile, officials can be heard threatening to call the police.
A man in a suit is heard to say: ‘I would go with him now, otherwise the police will intervene, but go now, we will try to find out.’
Speak with the subwayMr Akmen said security had claimed he was a “threat” after he was denied access to the conference hall where the prime minister delivered her keynote address to delegates.
He told the publication: ‘I entered the conference room for the speech after photographing the Prime Minister on the hotel bridge, but a guard wouldn’t let me in from the nearest door to the hall and I briefly argued that I was going to the photographer’s area.
The moment was captured by a journalist who uploaded the video to social media
“I was given no explanation or alternative directions. I left the gate to go to another but realized that the same guard was following me and radioed my description and described me as a threat.’
He added: “When I got to another door, there were three guards waiting for me and they grabbed me by the arms, ripped the accreditation off my chest and started dragging and pushing me until they got me without a jacket.” threw the curb. or the rest of my gear.
‘I had to wait an hour and a half in the rain with my T-shirt until a colleague could bring my things to me.’
Akmen won the Getty Images Young Photographer of the Year 2016 and the Fixation News Photographer of the Year 2019 awards, his website states.
West Midlands Police said they were aware of the incident, but it was handled with security personnel.
“No offenses were committed and no arrests were made,” she added.
Tolga Akmen and the Conservative Party have been approached for comment.