Late on Friday, Russia summoned Italy’s ambassador to Moscow, Cecilia Picconi, to protest against the “illegal” entry of two Italian reporters for State broadcaster RAI, Russian news agency Tass reports. The journalists were in the Kursk region to cover the attack by Ukrainian forces.
Italian foreign ministry sources stated Piccioni informed Russian authorities that RAI and its newsrooms operate with complete independence. The Italian ambassador stated the diplomatic network’s role is to monitor and protect Italian citizens in any situation.
The Italian ambassador was summoned late Friday after the Russian Telegram news channel Baza reported earlier in the day that the Russian interior ministry plans to file criminal charges against two Italian journalists. The RAI journalists were reporting from the Kursk region. The journalists are allegedly facing charges under “Article 322 of the Russian Federation’s criminal code for the illegal crossing of state borders,” according to Baza.
Baza identified RAI reporters Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini as the journalists at risk of prosecution, noting that RAI’s TG1 newscast had reported from Sudzha, a city in Russia’s Kursk region near the Ukrainian border.
Italy’s RAI union Usigrai and the journalists’ union Fnsi issued a joint statement denouncing the potential criminal charges as “unacceptable,” insisting that “journalism is not a crime.” They called the idea that Moscow might prosecute Battistini and Traini, who entered Russian territory with Ukrainian troops for a TG1 report, “unacceptable,” arguing that “information should not require prior authorisation.”
They added, “Reporting on a war is always challenging and faces many forms of pressure, and threatening journalists with a criminal trial is one of those pressures.”
Criminal proceedings initiated against RAI journalists
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has initiated criminal proceedings against RAI journalist Stefania Battistini and cameraman Simone Traini, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti. The pair stand accused of “illegally crossing the Russian Federation’s state border and filming a video in the village of Sudzha, in the Kursk region.”
RAI has decided to temporarily bring back Battistini and Traini to Italy “solely to ensure their safety and personal protection,” said RAI’s CEO and president, Roberto Sergio, on Saturday.
