More than 150 arrested at large protest in Moscow

More than 150 people have been detained in an unauthorised protest march in Moscow.

Thousands of people took to the streets in support of investigative journalist Ivan Golunov, who was accused of drug trafficking.

Among the detainees are journalists from Medusa, Novaya Gazeta, Reuters, Kommersant, TV channel Dozhd, in addition to the leading Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The correspondent of the investigations department of the Medusa edition, Ivan Golunov, was detained in Moscow on the afternoon of June 6. He was beaten by police and received a concussion and was later put under house arrest.

The police claimed that they had found drug bundles in his home which they said he intended to sell.

Golunov insisted that the substances were planted because of his investigation into the funeral business.

Protests then began in Moscow and several other Russian cities.

Then the results of the medical examination were announced: no traces of drugs were found either in Golunov’s body or on his hands.

On June 11, all charges were dropped against  Ivan Golunov.

Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said that an internal audit had begun. He said that the police officers who detained Golunov “would be suspended during an internal inspection.”

The march that took place today was not sanctioned by city authorities. The initiators, however, stated that they still intended to hold it.

The editors of Medusa called on them to abandon their plans.