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Russia’s Union of Journalists calls for release of Zvezda TV channel’s crew

MOSCOW, June 07. /ITAR-TASS/. The Russian Union of Journalists calls on the international community to get involved in the situation around the camera crew of the Russian Zvezda (Star) television channel, detained in Ukraine.

The organisation’s head Vsevolod Bogdanov says “the Union has been looking into the situation.” He stressed the main problem is that nobody knew for sure where the reporters were.

“We are negotiating European organisations about a document, which would guarantee immunity to reporters during their work,” he said in an interview with the television channel.

Russia’s embassy in Ukraine has been undertaking efforts to release two reporters of the channel Andrei Sushenkov and Anton Malyshev.

“The information on the incident has been reported to OSCE, and now diplomats hope a feedback is coming. The embassy controls the situation”, the television channel reports on its site.

Zvezda’s crew, which was working in Ukraine (cameraman Andrei Sushenjkov and video engineer Anton Malyshev) are unaccessable since afternoon of June 6. The television channel says the reporters were detained at a checkpoint not far from Slaviansk. Armed people in black uniform put on masks on the reporters, handcuffed and kneeled them. After that, the reporters were taken away somewhere. The Russian embassy in Ukraine has been undertaking efforts to release the reporters.