MOSCOW, July 28. /TASS/. The Organizing Committee for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris has provided no concrete grounds for stripping TASS journalists of the accreditation to the Games, the TASS Public Relations and International Projects Directorate said in a statement.
Earlier on Sunday, the Organizing Committee revoked accreditation from four TASS journalists. Three correspondents could only highlight the opening ceremony and several competitions. The TASS journalists worked in strict compliance with the rules of such large-scale tournaments and there had been no claims to them from the organizers.
"The revocation of accreditation from TASS journalists was a total surprise for us," the statement says. "Our correspondents entered France and received their Olympic accreditations without any problems. One of them, Artyom Kuznetsov, has been staying in Paris since July 20."
"All the correspondents have a lot of expertise and have represented Russia and TASS at the largest sports tournaments. For instance, it is the seventh Olympics for Kuznetsov and there have never been any claims to his work, as well as to the work of the other correspondents. The Paris 2024 Organizing Committee cited the decision of the French authorities when it deprived the journalists of their legitimate right to do their job but it provided no concrete claims or reasons for such a decision," the statement stresses.
Earlier, the French side refused to accredit several Russian journalists to the Olympic Games, saying that it was afraid of potential spying activities. Commenting on this situation, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that journalists’ rights and the freedom of speech are an empty phrase for French President Emmanuel Macron.