Golunov was released

A decision was made to terminate the criminal prosecution of Ivan Golunov due to the lack of evidence of his participation in the crime

Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev announced that the criminal prosecution of Meduza journalist Ivan Golunov, who was previously accused of attempted drug trafficking, has been terminated. According to him, Golunov will be released from house arrest today, the charges against him have been dropped.

“Materials of the internal investigation from the department of internal security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia were sent to the Investigative Committee to assess the legality of the actions of the police officers who detained the journalist. For the period of verification, they have been suspended from their duties,” said . Kolokoltsev

The Minister also petitioned the President for the dismissal of Police Major General Andrey Puchkov, Chief of the Internal Affairs Directorate for ZAO Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Moscow, and Major General of Police Yuri Devyatkin, Head of the Directorate for Drug Control of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Moscow.

“This is a common victory, this is a victory for civil society, this is a victory for supervisory authorities, this is a victory for common sense, this is a victory for the law,” responded Head of the Human Rights Council Mikhail Fedotov to the minister’s statement. According to him, "this should not be the end of this story, because those who are guilty of this mockery of the law must be brought to justice."

On Saturday, Moscow's Nikulinsky Court placed investigative journalist Ivan Golunov under house arrest until August 7. He himself pleaded not guilty, saying that the drugs that were found in his backpack and in the apartment were planted on him. An examination later found no traces of drugs either on the swabs from Golunov's hands or on the cuts of his nails. The journalist's fingerprints were also not found on the items confiscated in his apartment , however, the experts found the DNA of several people on the drug packages.

The fact that the violations and mistakes made during the detention of Golunov cause distrust in the investigating authorities was also stated today by the Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko.

Ivan Golunov linked his persecution to the investigation he led about the funeral mafia. Today, the Anti-Corruption Foundation released its material , in which it linked Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, employees of the mayor's office, the FSB and the funeral business.

Since the arrest of Golunov, actions in support of him have been held throughout the country and abroad. His colleagues, human rights activists, politicians and cultural figures spoke out for the release of the journalist. On June 12, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, activists planned marches in support of Golunov. The Moscow authorities saw this as a threat and appealed to the prosecutor's office . Notifications for agreed actions yesterday and today were also submitted in other cities of the country.