Russia should release Journalists detained at protests, says Committee to Protect Journalists

New York: The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) urged Russia to release journalists detained during the January 23 and January 31 unauthorized protests.

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"Russian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release all journalists detained during recent protests, and allow members of the press to cover political demonstrations without fear," the CPJ said in a statement.

"Russian authorities should stop punishing journalists who are doing their jobs, and immediately drop all charges against all media workers being targeted for their reporting on the protests of January 23 and 31. Journalists covering civil unrest should be protected by law enforcement, not detained and harassed," Gulnoza Said, CPJ's Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, said.

Earlier, the head of the Russian Union of Journalists, Vladimir Solovyov, asked Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev to check cases when journalists had been detained at unauthorized rallies on January 31. He noted that during protest coverage, "the police officers detained journalists performing their professional duty, and some of them were subjected to violence." (ANI/Sputnik)

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