A prominent Russian investigative journalist, known for his reporting on corruption, has been arrested in Moscow, according to the state news agency TASS.
«Russian authorities should immediately drop their charges against Ivan Golunov, release him, and investigate allegations of mistreatment of the journalist in police custody,» said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator.
«Russia has a long history of politically motivated charges against independent reporters. Investigative journalism is treated as a crime where it ought to be viewed as a public service.»
Ivan Kolpakov, the editor-in-chief at Meduza, an online newspaper where Golunov works, told the CPJ that the drug charges were «absurd,» and that he had «no doubts that the charges are fabricated and are related to Golunov’s journalism.
