Journalists arrested amid Quebec student strike

MONTREAL— The two-month-old conflict between the Quebec government and students opposed to tuition hikes is intensifying as more radical protesters destroy property and schools attempt to reopen shut classrooms.

On Friday, a reporter and a photographer from Montreal newspaper La Presse were arrested while covering the actions of rampaging students who, according to Montreal police, smashed windows in Education Minister Line Beauchamp’s riding office in north Montreal before vandalizing the interior.

The students fled, and about seven were arrested at a locale not far from the riding office, where the photographer was also picked up.

The police also seized the two journalists’ materials.

The journalists were released a couple of hours later. Police kept their notes and images, saying future charges remain a possibility.

“These arrests are a serious attack on free- dom of the press,” said Éric Trottier, vicepresident of information at the newspaper. “I’m asking the police to release them immediately and to give back our materials, especially our photos, without making copies.”

Trottier said the police must not treat the arrests as a pretext to use the journalists’ materials to assist in their investigations.

Students from several organizations have been striking for two months, effectively closing classrooms in colleges and universities across the province.

But in recent days, some schools, including the Université de Montréal, have succeeded in obtaining temporary injunctions to reopen classrooms.

Earlier this week, Education Minister Beauchamp called on schools to do everything in their power so that “classes are given.”

This led to confrontations between students who support the strike and those who don’t, including students who fear for the rest of their semester, and worry they won’t graduate on time.