Investigator asks court to arrest journalist Golunov
MOSCOW. June 8 (Interfax) - Investigators have asked for the Meduza journalist Ivan Golunov accused of attempted drug dealing to be remanded in custody, a spokesperson for Moscow's Nikulino district court told Interfax on Saturday.
"The court has received a request to detain Golunov in custody. His delivery to the court building is due shortly," the spokesperson said.
He did not say when the hearing will begin.
Currently Golunov is in the city hospital N71 where he was brought for examination from a police station.
Earlier on Saturday the paramedic, who took Golunov to the hospital, described his injuries. "In the hair part in the back of the head; multiple bruises in the rib cage, front and back; bruised 10th-11th ribsl; a suspected closed craniocerebral injury and a suspected brain concussion," the doctor told Interfax.
According to the inquiry, Golunov "attempted to deal a large quantity of narcotics." On Saturday he was indicted. According to the investigators, two parcels with metamfepramone, weighing 3.65 grams, were seized during an examination of the journalist's backpack and the substance containing cocaine, weighing 5.42 grams, was seized at his place of residence.
Golunov was arrested "on June 6 during searches carried out in Tsvetnoy Boulevard by anti-drug officers from the Central Administrative District Police Department," the police said.
Agora lawyer Dmitry Dzhulai told Interfax on Friday that the journalist denied any wrongdoing and believed his detention was a provocation.
Meduza's Editor-in-Chief Ivan Kolpakov told Interfax that Golunov had been receiving threats on various occasions for the past year. He was in charge of investigations at Meduza. Kolpakov said he was confident that the drugs had been planted on the journalist, adding that the editorial office will verify a possible connection between Golunov's prosecution and his professional activities.