Russia demands probe after journalists attacked

Russia has condemned as unacceptable an attack on Russian journalists by federal officers in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday and demanded an investigation by United States officials.

A note of protest has been handed to the US Department of State over the "outrageous fact" that the journalists were assaulted by federal officers in the West Coast city, said Anatoly Antonov, Russia's ambassador to the US.

"We demand that a thorough investigation should be conducted and we should be informed about its results," Antonov said.

During clashes between anti-racism protesters and federal forces in Portland, correspondent Yulia Olkhovskaya and cameraman Vyacheslav Arkhipov－both from Russia's Channel One TV broadcaster－received minor injuries and their equipment was destroyed, said Kirill Kleimenov, a Channel One presenter and head of the news program.

"It looks like our group suffered at the hands of the security services," said Kleimenov, pointing out that the US federal agents seized the journalists' smartphones, ripped off their helmets and knocked down the cameraman with a baton while they were filming the protesters.

Olkhovskaya and Arkhipov earlier suffered the effects of tear gas dispersed in canisters. They were assisted by volunteer medics.

According to reports by Russia's Sputnik news agency, when the officers retreated, the Russian journalists found a memory card from a destroyed camera that had captured most of the assault.

Protests against police brutality have swept across the United States following the death of African American George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in May. Portland has become the latest flashpoint after US Department of Homeland Security agents were deployed to quell the protests.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the attack unacceptable.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "We view as outrageous the attack on Russian journalists by United States federal officers and expect the US authorities to take exhaustive measures in order to ensure personal security of Russian journalists and to create proper conditions for unrestricted work of the media in general."

Tatyana Moskalkova, Russia's human rights commissioner, said Moscow on Wednesday sent appeals for redress to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and the president of the International Federation of Journalists, Younes Mjahed.

On the day of the attack, the mayor of Portland was tear-gassed as he met with demonstrators.

Agencies contributed to this story.