Italy's foreign minister slams Russia’s move to target Italian reporters.

A Russian court has issued arrest warrants for two Italian journalists, Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini, accused of illegally crossing the border between Ukraine and Russia's Kursk region in August.

Battistini and Traini, employed by Italian state broadcaster RAI, were the first foreign reporters to enter the Russian town of Sudzha during Ukraine’s incursion into the region, after travelling there under Ukrainian military escort.

The two Italian reporters, neither of whom is currently in Russia, have been placed on "Russia's wanted list", according to RAI, and risk five years in prison under Russian law.

In a statement on Telegram, the court in Moscow said that in the event of extradition the two Italian journalists would be held in pretrial detention, RAI reports.

Il mandato d’arresto russo contro due giornalisti @TG1Rai è un’ulteriore forma di persecuzione nei confronti della libertà di stampa. Il Governo italiano sarà sempre schierato a difesa del diritto a una informazione indipendente.

— Antonio Tajani (@Antonio_Tajani) October 7, 2024

"The Russian arrest warrant against two journalists from TG1Rai is a further form of persecution against freedom of the press" - Italy's foreign minister Antonio Tajani wrote on X - "The Italian government will always be aligned in defence of the right to independent information."

The move by Russia was slammed as an "unacceptable provocation" by RAI journalists' trade union Usigrai which has called for "a unanimous position from the government against this latest intimidation against Italian journalists".

"We express all our concern for the contours that this case is taking", the union said, adding: "We hope that the ambassador of the Russian Federation in Italy will be urgently summoned to clarify our country's position in protecting journalistic work and freedom of information."

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