Ivan Golunov released and charges against him dropped
On 11 June 2019, Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev announced that the criminal case against Ivan Golunov had been closed due to lack of proof of his guilt. The investigative journalist was released from detention on the same day.
On 6 June 2019, investigative journalist Ivan Golunov was stopped by police officers in plain clothes while he was heading to a meeting with a source in his investigation, in Moscow. The police allegedly found a bag of narcotic substance in his backpack and he was accused of drug trafficking. The journalist is convinced that the drugs have been planted on him.
Ivan Golunov is a prominent journalist working for the news website Meduza.io, famous for his numerous investigations on corruption and embezzlement in Moscow, including in connection to the Moscow City Hall administration. Ivan Golunov has recently been working on a new investigation and has received threats in connection to his work.
On 11 June 2019, Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev announced that the criminal case against Ivan Golunov had been closed due to lack of proof of his guilt. The investigative journalist was released from detention on the same day.
Newspaper headlines proclaiming "We are Ivan Golunov" in Kommersant, Vedomosti, RBC Russian newspapers.
According to the Minister, the law enforcement officers involved in Ivan Golunov’s case had been suspended. Further, a request for the dismissal of the Head of the Department of Internal Affairs in the district where the case was opened, and the Head of the Anti-Drug Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Moscow was submitted to the President by the Ministry. The results of the internal investigation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been submitted to the Investigative Committee of Russia for further investigation.
The charges brought against Ivan Golunov and his detention sparked an unprecedented reaction amongst Russian society. A number of journalists, civil society activists, celebrities and political activists, as well as ordinary people spoke out on the case and participated in protests in support of the investigative journalist.
On 6 June 2019, investigative journalist Ivan Golunov was stopped by police officers in plain clothes while he was heading to a meeting with a source in his investigation, in Moscow. The police allegedly found a bag of narcotic substance in his backpack and he was accused of drug trafficking. The journalist is convinced that the drugs have been planted on him.
Ivan Golunov is a prominent journalist working for the news website Meduza.io, famous for his numerous investigations on corruption and embezzlement in Moscow, including in connection to the Moscow City Hall administration. Ivan Golunov has recently been working on a new investigation and has received threats in connection to his work.
On 6 June 2019, around 2.30 pm, Ivan Golunov was stopped near the metro station Tsvetnoy Boulevard in Moscow while heading to a meeting with his informant. He was only officially arrested the next day at 3.50 am at a police station located on Lunacharsky street in Moscow. For more than 12 hours, despite his requests, Ivan Golunov was held incommunicado and without access to his lawyer. Russian law requires an arrest to be formalised within three hours and guarantees access to lawyer and family. He also reported that he had been beaten by the police and denied medical assistance. According to his lawyer, police refused to take fingerprints and swabs of Ivan Golunov’s fingernails to check if he had touched the narcotic substance.
On 7 June 2019, the Ministry of Interior published nine photos of narcotic substances, allegedly taken in the apartment of Ivan Golunov. The journalist stated that during his incommunicado detention, the police had had access to his apartment, and that only one photo out of nine had been taken there.
The criminal case against Ivan Golunov was opened under Article 228.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for “illegal acquisition, storage, transportation, making and processing of narcotic drugs”. If found guilty of large-scale drug trafficking, Golunov could face up to 20 years in jail.
On 7 June 2019, the editorial team of Meduza issued an official statement asserting that Golunov had been framed, and calling for his release. “We know that in recent months he has received threats, we know the reasons why he has been threatened and we have an idea from whom the threats have come”, reads the statement.
Front Line Defenders strongly condemns the incommunicado detention and subsequent arrest of investigative journalist Ivan Golunov, as well as the charges brought against him, as they are believed to be solely motivated by his peaceful and legitimate work fighting corruption and defending the right to freedom of expression in the Russian Federation.
