MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/. Russian Ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova has sent an appeal to Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Younes Mjahed, the President of the International Federation of Journalists, to call on them to protect rights of Russian reporters Vyacheslav Arkhipov and Yulia Olkhovskaya who were attacked by police officers in Portland, US when fulfilling their professional duties, Moskalkova’s press service said Wednesday.

"The freedom of speech and ensuring security of journalists’ activities are basic values of democratic society enshrined in all fundamental international documents of the universal and regional levels. I believe that it is unacceptable to apply violent measures of counteraction against a person or a group of persons who are carrying out their professional duties and I ask you <…> to draw the attention of US authorities to this situation so that maximum effort can be put into preventing such cases of impunity and violence against journalists," reads the appeal published on the ombudswoman’s website.

Earlier, the press office for Russia’s Channel One reported that journalist Yulia Olkhovskaya and cameraman Vyacheslav Arkhipov were injured in an attack in Portland that continues to be a site for protests following the death of George Floyd, African American man, in late May in Minneapolis. When dispersing the rioting crowd last week, armed federal law enforcement officers were deployed - a move that was highly criticized by the US Democratic Party.