UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2020) The United Nations believes that all incidents involving police violence against journalists, including the deliberate use of pepper spray against a RIA Novosti correspondent by the Minneapolis police during public protests, must be investigated, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing on Monday.
On Sunday, RIA Novosti correspondent Mikhail Turgiyev was pepper-sprayed in the face by a Minneapolis police officer despite identifying himself as a reporter, while covering protests against police brutality and racism in the United States. A VICE television crew was also affected during the incident. The protests were sparked by the death of African American man George Floyd while in police custody.
"These cases all need to be investigated," Dujarric said.
Dujarric said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes that societies are attacked when journalists are under attack and there can be no democracy without freedom of the press.
The assault on Turgiyev was not the only case of police violence against reporters during the protests, which have been underway since May 25. A CNN crew was detained last week during live coverage of the protests. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz later apologized to the journalists for the arrest.
