International journalists' bodies and media watchdogs have expressed grave concern over Italian prosecutors' efforts to seize journalists' photographs and video footage of protests at the Group of Eight (G8) summit in Genoa.
They said the orders compelling Italian and foreign media organisations to hand over the material taken at the demonstrations put the lives of journalists at risk.
"This is really pretty outrageous," Mr Aidan White, president of the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and European Federation of Journalists, said.
"As these confrontations become sharper, it means that journalists are going to be more and more identified as part of the problem for protesters rather than professionals trying to record what is going on," he said. "And that is really dangerous."
Over the past week, Genoa state prosecutors have issued a series of orders to media organisations to hand over photos and TV cassettes of the demonstrations in the city during the July 20-22 summit of world leaders.
Police shot dead a young Italian protester during the riots and more than 231 people were injured, among them demonstrators, members of the security forces and journalists. More than 280 people were arrested, many of them foreign.
Italian police and security forces have come under a barrage of criticism at home and abroad accusing them of brutality and of depriving detainees of their rights.