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Moscow Union of Journalists concerned over detention of reporters during protest rallies

The Moscow Union of Journalists hopes that top-ranking officials from the Russian interior ministry will provide a principled assessment of these incidents

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, December 7 (Itar-Tass) —— Moscow’s Union of Journalists has expressed concern over police actions against reporters highlighting protest rallies in the capital city.

“In the recent days, when heated debates over the results of the parliamentary polls have spilled out into mass rallies and protest actions in Moscow, reporters cannot stand aside. Their professional duty is to highlight what is going on, to reflect the moods and attitudes of people taking part in mass actions, whether such actions are authorized or not,” the Union said in a statement circulated on Wednesday.

In this connection, the Union reminds that there are rules of conduct for reporters in such environment, as there are special identification cards approved both by Moscow’s Union of Journalists and the city police.

“That is why we are seriously concerned and perplexed to hear reports that a number of journalists were detained and some even beaten up by policemen,” the statement said. “The Moscow Union of Journalists hopes that top-ranking officials from the Russian interior ministry will provide a principled assessment of these incidents, and will elaborate a new algorithm of relations between law enforcers and journalists during mass rallies.”

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