MOSCOW PROTESTS MANHANDLING OF RUSSIAN SCRIBES IN PORTLAND

Russia’s embassy to the United States has handed a note of protest to the US Department of State over an attack on reporters of Russia’s Channel One in the US city of Portland, Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said on Wednesday, TASS news agency reported on July 22, 2020.

The Russian diplomatic mission said on its Facebook page quoting Antonov that in the early hours of July 22, "correspondent Yulia Olkhovskaya and cameraman Vyacheslav Arkhipov were inadmissibly treated by local police." Earlier, Channel One’s press office said that its film crew were injured in an attack by "camouflaged men" in Portland, where protests have been ongoing since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in late May. Abuses by President Trump’s federal agents against the media have already numbered 500, the embassy claimed.

"The press workers identified themselves loudly and clearly, showing press cards and offering no resistance," Antonov stressed.

"A note of protest has been sent to the Department of State over this outrageous fact. We demand that a thorough investigation should be conducted and we should be informed about its results," Antonov said adding that the US authorities had not replied yet to the "May 31 note of protest over a police attack" on RIA Novosti correspondent Mikhail Turgiyev. "We promptly contacted the Russians. Their health is not worrying and they do not need medical assistance," Antonov added. "We recommended that they keep a safe distance from the opposing sides."