Paris police detain RT correspondent at post-election protest, take phone away

RT’s Charlotte Dubenskij was detained by police while covering a Paris protest following the presidential run-off. In a brief call to RT before her phone was snatched away, Dubenskij described the incident as “not a pleasant experience.”

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Dubenskij was reporting from an eastern suburb of Paris, where protests were getting turbulent, with police repeatedly using tear gas on the demonstrators, according to reports.

RT’s correspondent was posting videos and photos of police cordons at the scene, which were not letting anyone go through.

READ MORE: Police use tear gas in Paris after protesters reportedly throw projectiles (VIDEO)

Dubenskij showed her press ID to the police, asking them “to be let free from the kettling,” but the police kept them in.

However, the correspondent was instead detained as police split the crowd into groups of six or seven people, and she was forced into a police van. Police also “went through all of our goods,” Dubenskij said.

Police held Dubenskij in a van for 10-15 minutes, then drove her for about 30 minutes.

Dubenskij contacted RT live via Skype, but police soon interrupted the call, telling Dubenkij to stop talking and that they were going to take her phone off her.

The correspondent was later released. Dubenkij said that she was "freed in a place where I didn't know where I was," and luckily there were locals "who could direct" her, she said.

The protests came after Emmanuel Macron was projected to win with around 65 percent of the vote, leaving Marine Le Pen trailing behind with about 35 percent.