This article is from the source 'rtcom' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.rt.com/russia/540283-rt-crew-detained-belarus-poland/
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
RT journalists 'handcuffed' & detained by Polish cops near border with Belarus | |
(32 minutes later) | |
A crew from RT France, both EU citizens have been detained by Polish police as they covered the ongoing refugee crisis on the border with Belarus. The last thing one of them reported was that they were being placed in handcuffs. | |
Reporter David Khalifa and cameraman Jordi Demory were taken into custody after a single live broadcast from the scene, RT France said on Monday morning. They reported that the Polish police showed an “unfriendly” attitude towards them. | |
“On several occasions they asked us to leave and not to film,” Khalifa, a French national, said of the Polish troops. | |
Khalifa sent a message “handcuffs” before contact with him and Demory was lost. | Khalifa sent a message “handcuffs” before contact with him and Demory was lost. |
Poland has banned journalists from working near its frontier with Belarus, leading to an effective media blackout as thousands of migrants remain stranded in freezing temperatures. As a result, most reportage has come form the Belarusian side. | |
The RT team were streaming from Usnarz Gorny, a small border village in northeastern Poland, before they were detained. | |
RT France said its journalists were being taken to a police station in Sokolka, a city about 47 km northwest of Usnarz Gorny. | |
The crisis between Belarus and its EU neighbors has been unfolding over months, as thousands of would-be asylum-seekers attempted to cross into the EU through Belarus territory this year. | |
Brussels and individual member states accused Minsk of orchestrating the influx and using people from places like Iraq and Syria as pawns. The Belarusian government denied being behind the crisis and said the sanctions that the EU imposed on it deteriorated its ability to police the border. | |
Some European officials claimed that Russia was involved in the conflict and called on Moscow to put pressure on Belarus. Moscow distanced itself from the row, saying it had nothing to do with it. | |
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! |