State broadcaster RAI has decided to
temporarily get back to Italy journalist Stefania Battistini and
operator Simone Traini, "exclusively to guarantee safety and
personal protection", the State broadcaster's CEO and president,
Roberto Sergio said on Saturday.
Russia late on Friday summoned Italy's ambassador to Moscow,
Cecilia Piccioni, to protest against the "illegal" entry of the
RAI reporter and operator in the Kursk region to cover the
attack by Ukrainian forces.
Italian foreign ministry sources have said that Piccioni told
Russian authorities that RAI and newsrooms plan their activities
in a totally independent way.
The Italian ambassador was summoned after Russian Telegram news
channel Baza reported that the Russian interior ministry wants
to press criminal charges against the pair, who work for the TG1
news program.
The journalist and operator would be charged under "article 322
of the criminal code of the Russian Federation over the illegal
crossing of State borders", wrote Baza, after they reported from
the city of Sudzha, which is located in Russia's Kursk region
near the border with Ukraine.
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