According to the agency, the leaflets with personal data of Sputnik correspondent Carolina Trejo Vidal, threats to her, and the emblem of the Chilean organisation Fatherland and Liberty Nationalist Front were distributed near her house on the eve of the referendum on constitutional reform.
"The Rossiya Segodnya International News Agency demands that Chilean law-enforcement agencies ensure the security of the Sputnik correspondent as well as promptly take all the necessary measures to identify and punish all those responsible for the illegal act. We consider such intimidation of a journalist as a fragrant violation to freedom of speech that is unacceptable in a democratic country", the announcement said.
Colegio de Periodistas exige al Ministerio del Interior y a Fiscalía severa investigación y sanciones por graves amenazas a periodista y comunicadora social https://t.co/MYRJ6tb5xv pic.twitter.com/e7r49nbxXv
— Colegio Periodistas de Chile (@ChilePeriodista) October 16, 2020
"The Association of Journalists requires the Ministry of the Interior and the Prosecutor's Office to carry out a thorough investigation and address the serious threats to the journalist and social commentator", a tweet, featuring a photo of the leaflet with the threats, said.
The press service added that Russia's Foreign Ministry and international media organisations have already been informed about Trejo's situation.
The news comes as the Latin American country is preparing for a referendum on rewriting the country's constitution, which was one of the main demands of protesters amid mass unrest last year.
