Russia threatens Italian journalists over video report from Kursk Oblast

Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Italian Ambassador Cecilia Piccioni on Friday, 16 August, to complain about a team from the Rai Italia TV network who filmed a report in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.

Source: European Pravda 

Details: The Russian Foreign Ministry complained that the Rai team working in Kursk Oblast "grossly violated Russian law and the elementary rules of journalistic ethics".

The ministry threatened the journalists with criminal prosecution in Russia, saying that "the necessary steps are being taken by the competent departments to establish the circumstances of the crime committed by the Rai team".

Earlier this week, Rai reporters Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini presented a report on the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ offensive in Kursk Oblast, becoming perhaps the first foreign journalists to be allowed entry.

Following that, Russian Telegram channels reported that Russian security forces want to file a criminal complaint against the journalists for "illegally crossing the state border."

The Italian journalists' unions Usigrai and Fnsi have condemned the announcement of the possible criminal prosecution of the Rai staff, reminding the Russian Foreign Ministry that "journalism is not a crime".

It is worth noting that Russia has a long history of arbitrarily jailing foreign journalists and deporting them when its spies are exposed overseas.

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