Airport Security took “Inappropriate” Photos with Tourists’ Camera

Julia Burulyova, a photographer from Russia, went on a one week trip to Israel with a friend. When they two arrived at Ben Gurion Airport for the flight back home, airport security took special interest in Burulyova’s photography equipment, specifically in her Nikon D3S camera and Nikon 14-24 lens.

Burulyova’s Israeli friend, Victor Vertsner, who posted the story in Facebook (Hebrew), said the security check stretched to almost a whole hour.

Apparently, that wasn’t enough. “During the security check I was told they had to re-check the camera, and that I won’t be able to take it on board with me,” Burulyova wrote in Facebook (Russian). “They said they’d send it on another flight, if everything is alright, meaning, if it’s not an explosive device or something of that sort. They refused to provide me with a receipt for the lens and the camera. All I got was a lost luggage note, meaning that if they sent me a soapbox instead of a camera, I won’t even be able to prove it.”

“The equipment is very expensive, and Julia, a very sought after photographer, obviously had work commissioned when she returned to Russia,” wrote Vertsner. “She told security that, but they very sternly said that if she wants to get back home on time, she better not argue. And so, another good will ambassador crying at our airport.”

Before the camera arrived – not at her doorstep but at the Moscow airport, Burulyova received an unpleasant surprise: “On the Flash card (which I was able to extract) I found a photographic report from the secret room for suspicious object check. Ben Gurion security officers had fun and took some photos – that’s the ‘gravity’ or their war on terror.” Alongside random photos, presumably taken to see if the camera is indeed operational and not a camera-shaped bomb, there were photos of the security people posing to the camera. One of the photos showed a security person waving his ass at the camera.

Israel Airports Authority’s reposnse: “On June 27, photographer Julia Burulyova passed through Ben Gurion airport on her way back to Russia. During the security check, she was asked to leave some of the photography equipment for a prolonged check, as to not delay her before the flight. Said equipment was sent to her about a day after the flight. Today the IAA was contacted by a friend of the photographer, claiming that the camera had been used inappropriately. IAA will apologize to Ms Julia Burulyova. The issue is under review, and IAA will take all necessary measures against those involved.”

• Originally published in Hebrew in ynet. Thanks, Rina S.G, for translating Burulyova’s Facebook note from Russian.

28 ביולי, 2011 | בנושאים eng