Moscow expects the US authorities to thoroughly investigate police brutality incidents against RIA Novosti correspondent Mikhail Turgiyev and Sputnik producer Nicole Roussell, Alexander Lukashevich, the Russian permanent representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said on Thursday
VIENNA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd July, 2020) Moscow expects the US authorities to thoroughly investigate police brutality incidents against RIA Novosti correspondent Mikhail Turgiyev and Sputnik producer Nicole Roussell, Alexander Lukashevich, the Russian permanent representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said on Thursday.
Turgiyev was pepper-sprayed by the police on May 31 while covering the civil unrest in Minnesota in the wake of the death of George Floyd. Roussell was shot with rubber bullets by the Washington police on June 1 despite identifying himself as a member of the press.
"We consider it absolutely unacceptable for the police to use their special equipment, including rubber bullets and teargas, against media workers doing their job. We assume that the corresponding US authorities will thoroughly investigate the incidents, and the representative [of the OSCE on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Desir] will closely monitor the issue until those responsible are made accountable," Lukashevich told the organization's permanent council.
The United States and the rest of the world have been having an active conversation about ways to fight police violence following the death of Floyd, an African American man, in police custody and the subsequent mass protests.
In June, the International Federation of Journalists demanded that the US authorities stop targeting journalists who cover the George Floyd protests.
