Rossiya Segodnya Chief Says Policeman In Washington Shot To Kill Sputnik's Producer

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd June, 2020) The policeman, who injured Sputnik producer Nicole Roussell while she was covering protests near the White House on Tuesday, shot to kill her, Dmitry Kiselev, the head of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, told Sputnik, urging the US authorities to investigate every such case of lawlessness against the press.

Roussell said earlier in the day that the police had shot off a stinger grenade, which caused "three very painful welts" on her hip and thigh, despite her clear identification as media worker,

"Sputnik producer Nicole Roussell told how it happened to her: the policeman shoot to kill her in a targeted manner after she showed him her press card and shouted that she was the media worker, after she fell and got up when covering riots near the White House. He shot anyway. Even the 'never hit a man when he is down' rule does not work for the US policeman. Of course, he will go unpunished and will shoot a journalist again next time. We are lucky that Nicole is alive, but a rubber bullet may kill one at point blank range," Kiselev said.

He also said that he considered such unacceptable police behavior in the United States to be a targeted intimidation of journalists, recalling an attack by law enforcement officers against another journalist of the agency on Sunday.

"It is terrific that this is not an accident. Nicole is already our second journalist who suffered from a police attack in a street war in the United States. On Sunday, RIA Novosti correspondent Mikhail Turgiyev, who covered the riots in Minneapolis, was deliberately pepper-sprayed in the face. A colleague from US broadcaster VICE was near him. Like Mikhail, he showed a press card and shouted 'I am the press!' Both were pepper-sprayed. US police officers intimidate journalists to silence them on what is happening on the streets of US cities," Kiselev said.

In this regard, he appealed to colleagues for support and called for an investigation into the illegal actions of US police against journalists.

"We call for journalistic solidarity of all colleagues and for investigation into each such case," Kiselev emphasized.

Earlier on Tuesday, Rossiya Segodnya Editor-in Chief Margarita Simonyan said the agency would consider a lawsuit in connection with police attacks against RIA Novosti and Sputnik journalists.

The protests were sparked by the death of African American man George Floyd while in police custody. Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency demanded an investigation into the actions of the police. The Russian Foreign Ministry previously regarded the Turgiyev incident as a manifestation of unjustified brutality. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz apologized to reporters who had been detained or attacked by the police on Sunday night. The Russian Embassy in the US, in turn, sent a note to the US State Department.

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Desir has urged the US authorities to ensure safety of journalists covering the protests. Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the United Nations secretary-general, said all such incidents should be investigated. US non-profit Freedom of the Press Foundation added the incident with Turgiyev to its database.