News Release

Four Words That Shook Helsinki: “Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty”

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In an article published this afternoon by The Nation magazine — “I Came as a Journalist to Ask Important Questions” — Sam Husseini sheds new light on what occurred at the Helsinki summit yesterday when he was forcibly ejected from the Trump-Putin news conference.

Husseini, a senior analyst with the Institute for Public Accuracy, writes: “I came to Helsinki to ask Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin questions about the threat of nuclear weapons and to distribute an open letter about the need for secure elections and true national security. Instead, I was dragged out of their press conference before it even began and into a Finnish jail.”

Husseini’s piece explains the significance of the small sign he was holding — “Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty” — when accosted and ejected by police. And he lists some key questions that were left unasked at the news conference.

SAM HUSSEINI, samhusseini at gmail.com, @samhusseini

NORMAN SOLOMON, solomonprogressive at gmail.com
Solomon is executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. He said today: “Journalists should be assertive, ask tough questions and show real grit instead of running with the herd. In Helsinki, four words on a standard piece of paper — ‘Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty’ — raised profound issues in ways that neither Trump and Putin nor the assembled reporters managed to do.”