Translated material
Yekaterinburg media demanded an apology from the police for drawing up reports against journalists covering the protest action
Journalists from Yekaterinburg addressed an open letter to the head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Sverdlovsk Region, Mikhail Borodin, demanding an apology for compiling protocols against correspondents who covered the actions of Alexei Navalny's supporters against the pension reform.
The authors of the letter recalled that what happened is a direct violation of the media law, which can also be qualified under the article of the Criminal Code on obstructing the legal professional activities of a journalist.
The appeal was signed by the chief editors and journalists of the largest regional media, in particular, URA.Ru, Znak.com, RBC-Ekaterinburg, E1.Ru, EAN, RIA "New Day".
Rallies, sanctioned or not, are an important part of social and political life, and the actual ban on working at rallies is a flagrant violation of the principles of freedom of speech, enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
- On the afternoon of September 9, three journalists were detained at the actions of supporters of Alexei Navalny against the pension reform - Dmitry Antonenkov (66.Ru), Sergey Panin and Dmitry Yemelyanov (E1.Ru).
- Protocols were drawn up against the detained journalists on violation of the procedure for holding a public event. “We don't make a difference between the rally participants and the journalists,” said Valery Gorelykh, official representative of the Sverdlovsk region police department.