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Alert

RSF expresses concern over detention of seven Italian journalists

(RSF/IFEX) - In a letter to Minister of the Interior Klaas de Vries, RSF expressed its concern over the detention of seven Italian journalists during the final of the European Cup of football in Rotterdam. "Such behaviour is unacceptable on the part of the police forces," declared Robert Ménard, the organisation's secretary-general. "We ask the Dutch authorities to get to the bottom of this affair and to keep us informed of the results of the inquiry," he added.


According to information obtained by RSF, seven journalists from the Italian public television station RAI were detained by the police in Rotterdam's stadium, shortly before the start of the European Cup football final on 2 July 2000. The police officers had asked the journalists to stop filming handicapped fans who were entering the stadium. Faced with the journalists' "refusal to obey", the police, aided by stadium employees, then hit members of the television team with truncheons, before detaining them. The journalists were kept in custody for several hours and released on the request of Italian authorities.