A journalist covering the G20 for British newspaper The Guardian was brutally assaulted and arrested when police executed a mass arrest on a peaceful protest near Yonge and Front last night.
It was around 11:40 pm when police escorted Jesse Rosenfeld to a police van at the base of the Novotel hotel, sporting a black eye visible from 40 feet.
Shortly after his own release from the area, TVO's Steve Paikin reported seeing a journalist who identified himself as working for The Guardian held by two cops while a third punched him in the stomach because he "talked too much", then drove his elbow into the collapsed journalist's back.
Rosenfeld had been commissioned by The Guardian, but was told by the G20 media accreditation team that his press credentials were "pending" throughout the week. When arrested, he was wearing his Alternative Media Centre press pass, but only those who could prove official G20 press accreditation were allowed to leave - with a warning, however, that their credentials would not get them released a second time.
The remaining 100-200 people in the area were arrested. At least three additional Alternative Media Centre journalists were arrested throughout the day.
