Int'l Federation Of Journalists Demands US To Stop 'War On Media Freedom' Amid Protests

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has demanded that the US authorities stop targeting journalists who cover the George Floyd protests

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd June, 2020) The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has demanded that the US authorities stop targeting journalists who cover the George Floyd protests.

The federation claims that the authorities are trying to shield themselves from scrutiny regarding their handling of the ongoing protests. Among the attacked journalists was Russian correspondent Mikhail Turgiyev, who works for RIA Novosti, a part of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency. On Sunday, Turgiyev was pepper-sprayed by the police while covering the civil unrest in Minnesota, despite identifying himself as a member of the press. The news agency has already demanded an investigation into the incident.

"The authorities, desperate to avoid legitimate scrutiny, have resorted to threatening and shooting the messenger. This war on media freedom and journalists' rights must stop. Those who target and attack journalists must be held to account," IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said in a statement published on Monday.

Demonstrators across the United States have been protesting against police brutality and racism since May 25, when Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt for several minutes on the neck of Floyd, an unarmed 46-year-old African American male, who later died. In an official medical report, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner in the US state of Minnesota ruled Floyd's death a homicide.