Colleagues and friends of detained journalist Ivan Golunov, at Russian Internal Ministry building in Moscow

Colleagues and friends of detained journalist Ivan Golunov, at Russian Internal Ministry building in Moscow

A RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIVE journalist facing drugs charges in a case supporters have denounced as a frame-up was taken to hospital today after complaining of being beaten in police custody.

Ivan Golunov, a Moscow-based reporter for Meduza independent news site has been charged with attempted dealing in designer drug mephedrone and cocaine.

Supporters and his defence team said he had received death threats and suggested the drugs were planted to punish him over his reporting. Rights groups Amnesty said there was evidence that the authorities were fabricating drugs charges to shut up their critics.

After his detention on Thursday, Golunov told a representative of Russia’s presidential rights council, which advises Vladimir Putin, that police had punched him and stood on his chest,

His lawyer Pavel Chikov said that paramedics suspected he had broken ribs and concussion. A paramedic who examined him told Interfax news agency that he had numerous grazes to his chest, injuries to his ribs and a suspected head injury while police have denied he was beaten.

The journalist was due to attend court today for a ruling on whether to hold him in custody but police said that they called an ambulance after he complained of feeling unwell and he was taken to a hospital for examination.

Golunov’s detention has prompted widespread outrage and supporters and journalists have held protests outside the police headquarters and the court where his case was due to be held.

Meduza posted photographs of people holding placards in support of Golunov in cities in Russia and abroad.

The 36-year-old has investigated high-level corruption among Moscow officials and Meduza said it believed he was being persecuted for his journalistic work.

Meduza general director Galina Timchenko told journalists outside court that Golunov had received death threats over his reporting.

“Ivan received threats. Two months ago they became almost daily,” she said. She had failed to persuade Golunov to contact police, she added.

“They said ‘we’ll bury you forever’,” she said.

Golunov has investigated everything from Russia’s shady funeral industry to corruption in Moscow city hall.

“We have reasons to believe that Golunov is being persecuted for his journalistic work,” Meduza said in an earlier statement.

The respected site is based in EU member Latvia to avoid Russian censorship, but some journalists, including Golunov live in Russia.

One of his lawyers, Dmitry Dzhulai, told AFP it appeared the drugs had been planted on Golunov.

Moscow police admitted that they published on their website photographs of drugs paraphernalia that they captioned as showing the crime scene but were not taken at Golunov’s flat.

“Everything indicates that the authorities are planting drugs on their targets to shut them up with a jail sentence,” said Natalia Zvyagina, director of Amnesty International’s branch in Russia.

A presidential rights council member who visited Golunov in detention on Friday, Yeva Merkacheva, said in a statement that Golunov had shown her scratches on his back that he said were from police dragging him.

He also told her he was twice punched in the head and that the police also stood on his chest and that “he hadn’t slept for 24 hours and so he feels bad. He also hasn’t eaten”, she said.

Russian journalists and rights groups see the case as an example of the persecution of independent reporters, with many saying Golunov was not known to take drugs.

Outside the Moscow court where Golunov was due to appear Saturday, several journalists held up placards with slogans including “I am the journalist Ivan Golunov. Arrest me too.”

Police detained three people, an AFP video journalist saw.

Yesterday, dozens of journalists protested against Golunov’s detention outside Moscow police headquarters and were themselves briefly detained.

Reporters Without Borders warned his arrest could mark “a significant escalation in the persecution” of independent journalists in Russia. </s> MOSCOW: A Russian investigative journalist facing what supporters call trumped up drugs charges was ordered to be held under house arrest on Saturday (Jun 8) after appearing before a judge in Moscow.

Around a hundred people cheered outside the court to show support for Ivan Golunov, 36, in a case that has drawn international concern.

The Moscow-based reporter for the Meduza independent news site has been charged with attempted dealing of a "large amount" of designer drug mephedrone and cocaine.

He will remain under house arrest for two months, the judge said.

Supporters and his defence team said before the hearing he had received death threats and suggested the drugs were planted to punish him for his reporting.

"We have reasons to believe that Golunov is being persecuted for his journalistic work," Meduza said in a statement.

The respected site is based in EU member Latvia to avoid Russian censorship, but some journalists live in Russia. Golunov has investigated subjects ranging from Russia's shady funeral industry to corruption in Moscow city hall.

Golunov was taken to court from a Moscow hospital where doctors examined him and rejected lawyers' claims that he had broken ribs and concussion, while saying he had scratches on his back and a bruised eye.

Golunov, who was arrested on Thursday, earlier told a representative of Russia's presidential rights council, which advises Vladimir Putin that police had punched him and stood on his chest, while police denied he was beaten.

The US Embassy in Moscow wrote on Twitter: "We call for the release of Ivan Golunov," saying he "should not suffer persecution over his professional activities", while the British Embassy called his case "concerning".

Around 20 supporters also protested outside the Russian Embassy in Berlin with slogans such as "Free Golunov".

Meduza founder and CEO Galina Timchenko told journalists outside court Golunov had received death threats over his reporting.

"Ivan received threats. Two months ago they became almost daily," she said.

"They said 'we'll bury you forever'," she said.

One of Golunov's lawyers, Dmitry Dzhulai, told AFP it appeared the drugs had been planted on Golunov.

Moscow police admitted that they posted photographs of drugs paraphernalia wrongly captioned as showing Golunov's flat.

"Everything indicates that the authorities are planting drugs on their targets to shut them up with a jail sentence," said Natalia Zvyagina, director of Amnesty International's branch in Russia.

Russian journalists and rights groups see the case as an example of the persecution of independent reporters, with many saying Golunov was not known to take drugs.

Outside the Moscow court on Saturday, some journalists held up placards with slogans including "I am the journalist Ivan Golunov. Arrest me too."

Police detained four people, an AFP video journalist saw.

On Friday, dozens of journalists protested against Golunov's detention outside Moscow police headquarters and were themselves briefly detained.

Reporters Without Borders warned his arrest could mark "a significant escalation in the persecution" of independent journalists in Russia.

Journalists at Russia's dwindling number of independent media resources frequently face criminal probes, physical attacks and official pressure. Drugs accusations, however, are not common. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Police moved in and made arrests as protesters gathered outside the court

A Russian investigative journalist, Ivan Golunov, has been arrested in the capital Moscow and charged with trying to illegally sell drugs.

He was placed under house arrest after a court hearing. Earlier, he was given a medical examination amid reports he had been injured during the arrest.

The reporter for Latvia-based news site Meduza was detained on Thursday.

His lawyer says drugs were planted on him, an accusation the Russian authorities deny.

Meduza says Mr Golunov, 36, is being "being persecuted because of his journalistic activity".

What do we know about his arrest?

The court rejected a request by investigators to keep him in custody.

He reporter had been on his way to meet another journalist on Thursday when he was stopped and searched by officers.

They say they found the synthetic drug mephedrone in his rucksack, and that a later search of his flat turned up more drugs and some scales - indicating that he was involved in dealing.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Investigative journalist Ivan Golunov was arrested on Thursday

The journalist was officially charged on Saturday morning with attempting illegally to produce, sell or pass on drugs.

Police released photos which they said showed drug paraphernalia in Mr Golunov's flat, but these were later withdrawn, BBC Russian journalist Olga Ivshina reports.

The police, she adds, admitted that "most of the published photos had not been taken at Mr Golunov's flat after all, but were related to another criminal investigation that might be linked to his detention".

Meduza said in a statement that Mr Golunov had received threats in recent months over a story he was working on.

"We are convinced that Ivan Golunov is innocent," the statement reads, according to Reuters news agency. "Moreover, we have grounds to believe that Golunov is being persecuted because of his journalistic activity."

'A deep feeling of helplessness'

by Nataliya Zotova, BBC Russian reporter

Ivan Golunov's friends and journalists have been waiting outside the court building since the morning, showing their support for a colleague they believe has been wrongly arrested.

"I don't believe we can change anything standing there. But what else can we do?" Evgeny Buntman of Ekho Moskvy, one of few independent radio stations in Russia, wondered aloud.

"People come here not because they can be of help here, but because of a deep feeling of helplessness."

In the courtroom, Golunov cried when he saw his friends and colleagues. Everyone was expecting him to be jailed while he awaited trial. Instead, the judge decided on house arrest.

The angry screams of the crowd outside instantly transformed into yelps of joy which carried through the open windows into the courtroom.

Now, it was Golunov's friends to cry - out of relief.

What is being reported about his condition?

A medical examination at Moscow's Hospital Number 71 showed that he had an abrasion on his back and bruising around one eye but no serious injuries that required a stay in hospital, Dr Alexander Myasnikov told Russian media.

None of his ribs were broken, he added, after earlier claims that he had suffered a fracture.

Meduza says he was beaten up by officers both during his arrest and later at a police station. He was, the news site says, only able to contact a friend after 14 hours.

In the first video of Mr Golunov since his arrest, posted by the Russian news site Breaking Mash, he lifts up his shirt to reveal marks on his back.

Mr Golunov said he had been involved in "scuffles" with police, and showed bruises.

His lawyer, Dmitry Julay, told reporters that the journalist had been denied food and sleep for more than 24 hours.

Who is Ivan Golunov?

The journalist has repeatedly exposed corruption among Moscow's high-profile businesspeople and its political elite, as well as fraudulent financial schemes in the city.

Journalists in Russia have often been harassed or attacked in recent years for their work. Many opposition figures and human rights activists in Russia have been detained on apparently fabricated drugs charges, which are widely seen as an attempt to quash political dissent.

Much of Russia's media is controlled by the state and Russia is ranked 83rd out of 100 countries for press freedom by Freedom House.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Mr Golunov's mother Svetlana (centre) with Galina Timchenko

"We will find out by whose will Vanya [Ivan] is being pursued, and we will make this information public," Meduza's director Galina Timchenko and editor Ivan Kolpakov said.

"We will protect our journalist by all available means."

The journalist's arrest sparked protests in Moscow and St Petersburg, and more than a dozen people - mostly fellow journalists - were reportedly detained and later released.

On Saturday, police detained several people trying to protest about the arrest outside Nikulinsky Court, with one placard condemning the case against the reporter as a "fabrication".

Mr Golunov's mother, Svetlana Golunova, told Reuters the arrest was "not even a farce, it is something unbelievable", and she expected "only victory". </s> MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian investigative journalist who was detained this week for alleged drug offences was taken to court on Saturday to face possible arrest, after being hospitalised with suspected head injuries.

Ivan Golunov, 36, had been on his way to a meeting with a source on Thursday when he was detained in central Moscow and illegal drugs were found in his rucksack, according to police and his employer, the online news portal Meduza.

A lawyer for Golunov, who is known for investigating alleged corruption among Moscow city officials, said he believed police had planted the drugs on his client to frame him and that Golunov had been physically beaten.

“The detainee ... complained of feeling unwell. An ambulance was called,” Moscow City police said in a statement on its website. “Paramedics decided that he should be taken to hospital for examination.”

Interfax news agency cited an unnamed paramedic as saying Golunov had multiple chest abrasions, rib bruises and suspected head injuries. The agency subsequently said he had been released from hospital and brought to court, which under Russian law is where he would have to be charged with any alleged offences.

News agency RIA later cited Alexander Myasnikov, chief doctor of the hospital, as saying following the medical examination that Golunov did not have any serious injuries.

A Moscow court said it had received a request from investigators to hold Golunov in custody on drug charges. He could either be placed under arrest in custody, subject to house arrest, released on bail, or released with travel restrictions.

The court may also extend his detention by 72 hours.

The U.S. embassy called on the Russian authorities to free Golunov and ensure the transparency of the investigation, Interfax reported.

The editorial management of Meduza, which is based in Latvia, has said Golunov had received threats in recent months in connection with a story he was working on.

A number of independent reporters in Russia have been prosecuted, threatened or killed. In 2017 journalist Yulia Latynina was forced to flee Russia after a series of attacks. </s> Ivan Golunov, a prominent Russian investigative journalist who has exposed corruption among Moscow's most powerful business and political elite, has been hospitalized with bruises and abrasions two days after his arrest for allegedly trying to illegally sell drugs.

The 36-year-old reporter for the Latvia-based news site Meduza was jailed on Thursday, but was taken to a hospital on Saturday after complaining of feeling poorly.

His lawyer, Dmitry Julay, told reporters that the journalist had been denied food and sleep for more than 24 hours.

Moscow police said only that an emergency medical squad was summoned and found that Golunov should be taken a hospital for examination, but did not elaborate.

The head of human rights organization Agora, Pavel Chikov, told Russian news agencies the reporter was suspected of having a concussion and a broken rib. In a video taken after his arrest and posted by the Russian news site Breaking Mash, Golunov showed marks on his back.

Meduza said on its website that Golunov allegedly was beaten after his arrest and is being "being persecuted because of his journalistic activity."

Meduza said in a statement that Golunov had received threats in recent months over a story he was working on. "We are convinced that Ivan Golunov is innocent," the group said.

Alexei Kovalev, head of the Meduza investigative team, said he was with Golunov shortly before his arrest and called him "one of the best investigative reporters in the industry."

"Okay, listen up," Kovalev said on Twitter to sound an alarm of the arrest. "This is not a drill."

Demonstrators protesting Golunov's arrest turned out in Moscow, as well as in Perm, Yaroslavl, Krasnodar, and other Russian cities, according to Meduza.

PEN America, which advocates for free expression worldwide, said in a statement that the "questionable accusations"against the journalist "reflect the Russian government's long-standing practice of harassing its critics via both legalistic and clearly extra-legal means, which appear to have widened as regional elections are coming in September."

Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Moscow during the Obama administration, said Golunov's arrest reflects the brutality of the Putin era. "Putin's regime is an autocracy," he said on Twitter."Whether Putin personally orders every assault on human rights or rule of law is immaterial. This is his regime."

He equated Golunov's arrest with the assassination of prominent opposition figure Boris Nemtsov in 2015 and the attempted poisoning in Britain last year of former Russian military officer and double agent for the British intelligence services.

The reporter was stopped and searched by police while on his way to meet another journalist on Thursday.

Police alleged that four grams of a synthetic stimulant were found in his backpack and that other drugs were found in his apartment. His lawyer maintains the drugs were planted on him. He was officially charged on Saturday with attempting illegally to produce, sell or pass on drugs.

Police released photos which they said showed drug paraphernalia in his apartment, but these were later withdrawn, BBC Russian journalist Olga Ivshina reports.

The police, she adds, admitted that "most of the published photos had not been taken at Mr Golunov's flat after all, but were related to another criminal investigation that might be linked to his detention."

Golunova has long been a thorn in the side of Russia's power center after repeatedly exposing among business people and political figure, as well as uncovering fraudulent financial schemes in Moscow. </s> Russian journalist in Moscow police custody sent to hospital

MOSCOW (AP) — A prominent investigative journalist who was detained on drug-dealing charges in Russia is being taken to the hospital after complaining of feeling poorly in police custody.

The Moscow police department said Saturday that an emergency medical squad was called for Ivan Golunov and determined he should be taken a hospital for examination.

It did not specify Golunov's medical problem. The head of human rights organization Agora, Pavel Chikov, told Russian news agencies Golunov was suspected to have a concussion and a broken rib.

Golunov's publication, the independent website Meduza, said he allegedly was beaten after his Thursday arrest.

Police are alleging four grams of a synthetic stimulant were found in his backpack. But many journalists suspect the arrest was retribution for Golunov's investigative work. </s> A Russian investigative journalist arrested on controversial drug charges has been severely beaten in custody, his lawyer has said.

A doctor who inspected Ivan Golunov said he may have suffered broken ribs, concussion and a haematoma.

Golunov, a reporter for the independent Meduza news website, was arrested on drug charges on Friday. Colleagues and friends believe he is being targeted for his work on state corruption and business interests.

Two separate teams of doctors suggested Golunov be taken to hospital for x-rays but police investigators refused. The injuries were sustained while Golunov was in custody, his lawyer Dmitri Dzhulai confirmed by text message.

Golunov was later taken to a Moscow hospital, several Russian outlets reported. He had earlier complained police punched and kicked him about the head and chest because he refused to sign a police report before he had access to a lawyer.

He was formally charged on Saturday with drug possession with intent to sell, a crime that carries a prison sentence of between 10 and 20 years. Police said that they found 3.56 grams of the clubbing drug mephedrone in a backpack belonging to Golunov and 5.42 grams of cocaine in an apartment he purportedly rented in Moscow. Golunov has said the drugs were planted.

Hundreds of people protested against his arrest outside Moscow’s police headquarters on Friday, holding signs in support reading: “My name is Ivan Golunov. I am a journalist. Arrest me, too.”

Police had also demanded Golunov sign a confession, Dzhulai said. Russian investigators often put suspects in criminal cases under pressure in order to sobtain confessions, which makes it far easier to secure a conviction.

Police have also tried to limit the public flow of information about the case, demanding that Golunov’s lawyers sign non-disclosure agreements. They have refused.

Golunov has investigated family members of a Moscow deputy mayor who amassed a fortune in real estate, predatory lenders who purchased apartments in Moscow, plans to ship Moscow’s waste to the regions, and the efforts of a senior official’s son to corner Russia’s funeral market.

He had been receiving threats before his arrest, his editors said.

“Ivan Golunov is a prominent critic and his investigations into government corruption clearly did not go down well with the authorities. It seems he is now paying the price,” said Natalia Zviagina, the director of Amnesty International’s Russia office . “The circumstances of Ivan Golunov’s detention sound dubious and follow a depressingly familiar pattern.” </s> Russian investigative journalist Ivan Golunov was placed under two months’ house arrest in Moscow on Saturday while he is investigated for drug peddling, as a court rejected a request from investigators to hold him in custody.

Golunov, 36, was on his way to a meeting with a source on Thursday when he was detained in central Moscow and illegal drugs were found in his rucksack, according to police and his employer, the online news portal Meduza, based in Latvia.

A lawyer for Golunov, who is known for investigating alleged corruption among Moscow city officials, said he believed police had planted the drugs on his client to frame him, and that Golunov had been physically beaten.

Golunov denies the charges. Dressed in blue jeans and a black t-shirt, he told people present in court during a recess that he had received threats in connection with an investigation into the funeral service industry.

“I did not commit a crime, I am ready to cooperate with the investigation, I have nothing to do with the drugs,” Golunov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying.

Golunov is accused of large-scale drug dealing and investigators had asked the court to remand him in custody for two months.

Outside the court, several hundred supporters chanted “Freedom! Freedom!”

Earlier in the day, Golunov had been taken to hospital after feeling unwell. Interfax news agency cited an unnamed paramedic as saying he had multiple chest abrasions, bruised ribs and suspected head injuries.

But the news agency RIA later cited Alexander Myasnikov, chief doctor of the hospital, as saying that an examination had not shown evidence of any serious injuries.

The U.S. embassy urged Russian authorities to free Golunov and ensure a transparent investigation, Interfax reported.

Journalists critical of the government or other authorities have led a dangerous existence in Russia since the 1990s.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a U.S. non-governmental organisation, 58 journalists have been killed in Russia since 1992, of whom 38 were targeted for murder. </s> Russian investigative journalist Ivan Golunov made his career writing the news, revealing corruption among Moscow’s elite for the news site Meduza. But he became the subject of headlines himself last week, after he was arrested on trumped-up charges of drug trafficking that could have landed him 20 years in prison.

After an outcry and scrutiny from Russia’s remaining independent media, authorities eventually conceded a lack of evidence on Tuesday. When he was released that day from house arrest, activists hailed it as a rare victory amid a sea of repression.

But they also say he should never have been arrested in the first place. Golunov was stopped on the street in Moscow on June 6, handcuffed and bundled into a police car. Police then strip-searched him and allegedly beat him. They then said they had found a packet of methamphetamine in his bag, and charged him with conspiracy to traffic the drug. His disappearance initially went unreported, and when his lawyer was finally able to see him after more than 12 hours, Golunov said he had not been allowed to eat or sleep. By the time the journalist appeared on June 8 in a Moscow court, where he was sentenced to two months of house arrest awaiting trial, doctors suspected he had a concussion and broken ribs.

Cracks soon started to appear in the official story, however. Photos purporting to show a drug lab in Golunov’s apartment were removed from a government website after his journalist colleagues established they were taken elsewhere. On the streets, meanwhile, a wave of support was growing. One-person vigils—which, unlike other forms of protest in Russia, don’t require a permit—were held on a rolling basis, despite police intimidation. Video footage posted on Twitter showed crowds of supporters lining up to “change shifts” with a lone picketer. And on June 10, three of Russia’s biggest newspapers each carried the same front-page headline: .

“We have grounds to believe Golunov is being persecuted because of his journalistic activity,” his editors at Meduza said in a statement. Ivan Kolpakov, editor in chief of Meduza, tells TIME that he believes Golunov’s ordeal was prompted by one particular piece he was working on as recently as last week.

Golunov might be a free man now, but intimidation of journalists is common in Russia, which is ranked 149th out of 180 countries for press freedom by Reporters Without Borders. “Ivan’s arrest is just a part of the Russian system,” Kolpakov says.

But in this case, Golunov received an unexpected wave of support. His incarceration became a test of solidarity among Russian journalists, who rallied to his defense. In front of the country and the world, they effectively dismantled the police narrative. Even some reporters in the state-run media stood up for Golunov. Eventually, the Russian Interior Ministry stepped in to order his release. The officers involved in his arrest have been suspended.

Nevertheless, their tactics revealed something about the way public discourse is stifled in Russia today. “The easiest way to put anyone in prison in Russia is to plant drugs in his bag,” Kolpakov told TIME shortly before Golunov was released. “It means that he immediately goes to prison. It means that his reputation is immediately destroyed. It means it’s going to be a dirty case.” In Russia, reporters routinely face intimidation, and most newspapers and TV channels avoid criticizing powerful figures in politics and business.

But Golunov was determined to do his work. “I think he had a lot of powerful enemies,” Kolpakov says. “I would say many people were not pleased by what he wrote. Many people did not want to appear in his pieces, because it’s the easiest way for a corrupt person to become famous.”

In a recent story, Golunov had presented evidence to show the deputy mayor of Moscow had embezzled public money, with which he and his family were able to buy nine penthouses in the city.

And Gulonov wasn’t a stranger to receiving threats, either. “He was threatened in April 2018 by a group of people he wrote about, because of one of his articles,” Kolpakov tells TIME. “He was threatened systematically and I’ve heard that a couple of months ago he also got some other threats from the same people.”

The most recent threats, Kolpakov says, weren’t about a published piece, but an-as-yet unpublished investigation Golunov was working on for Meduza

In a stroke of luck, Golunov filed that story just hours before his arrest. Now, Meduza is preparing to publish it. His arrest virtually guarantees that investigation will reach a wider audience than ever before. “He is a lucky guy,” Kolpakov says. “For the first time in his life, he didn’t miss his deadline.”
Several people, protesting Meduza investigative journalist Ivan Golunov's arrest Thursday on drug charges, are themselves arrested outside Moscow's Nikulinsky Court. Others were arrested yesterday. His lawyer says drugs were planted on him. Golunov was taken to a hospital, police say because he said he was ill. Meduza says he was beaten up during and after his arrest. A doctor's examination found the reporter has "a suspected rib fracture, concussion and hematoma."