Russia summons Italian ambassador over RAI journalists
Newsrooms are independent says Italian diplomat
Russia has summoned Italy's
ambassador to Moscow, Cecilia Picconi, to protest against the
"illegal" entry of two Italian reporters for State broadcaster
RAI in the Kursk region to cover the attack by Ukrainian forces,
Russian news agency Tass reports.
Italian foreign ministry sources have said that Piccioni told
Russian authorities that RAI and newsrooms plan their activities
in a totally independent way.
The diplomatic network has the role of following and
safeguarding Italian citizens in any situation, the ambassador
added.
The Italian ambassador was summoned late on Friday after
Russian Telegram news channel Baza reported earlier in the day
that the Russian interior ministry intends to press criminal
charges against two Italian journalists who reported from the
region of Kursk.
The journalists would be charged under "article 322 of the
criminal code of the Russian Federation over the illegal
crossing of State borders", wrote Baza.
RAI reporters "Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini could be
prosecuted", according to the news outlet, which recalled that
the TG1 newscast of RAI's first television channel "reported
from the city of Sudzha", which is located in Russia's Kursk
region near the border with Ukraine.
Italy's RAI union Usigrai and journalists' union Fnsi issued a
joint statement slamming the allegation that the pair, who are
back in Ukraine, could be criminally prosecuted as
"unacceptable".
"Journalism is not a crime".
"The hypothesis that Moscow's authorities could prosecute
Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini who entered Russian
territory with Ukrainian troops for a report for Tg1 is
unacceptable.
"Information cannot be provided with preventative
authorizations.
"Reporting a war is always difficult and withstands the most
varied forms of pressure.
"Threatening those who provide information with a criminal trial
is one of them", concluded the statement.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
Related
Share this page
Guest Posts by Easy Branches
