‘Meduza’ correspondent Ivan Golunov is named as victim in felony case against police officers who arrested him last summer

Meduza special correspondent Ivan Golunov has been named as a victim in an investigation into the abuse of power by the Moscow police, a state investigator working on the case told Golunov, who’s been invited to testify against the suspects on January 20.

• In June 2019, police arrested Golunov on suspicion of intent to distribute illegal narcotics. He says the drugs were planted on him. Several days later, following a massive public campaign in Golunov’s defense, the authorities dropped the charges against him.
• The officers who arrested Golunov were later fired. Golunov’s lawyer previously filed a complaint against the delay in investigating these former officers, but a court rejected the lawsuit last December.
• In late December, President Putin revealed that Golunov’s arresting officers are now suspects in a felony investigation. On January 13, the public learned that this case is being prosecuted as an abuse of police power.