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PUTIN'S INTERVIEW TO TASS

Putin praises society for intervening on Golunov’s behalf, saying it ‘made a difference’

The Russian president stressed that the investigation had to be thorough and carried out without any haste

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin believes society’s active intervention played a positive role in the case of journalist Ivan Golunov. He is certain that the investigation had to proceed in strict conformity with the law and without any haste, though the affair was in the public eye.

"People are getting involved and this makes a difference in today’s Russia," Putin told TASS in an interview for the project entitled "20 Questions with Vladimir Putin." "Law enforcement agencies are looking into the matter. Some have been fired, some detained."

Putin stressed that the investigation had to be thorough and carried out without any haste.

"Do you want them to beat confessions out of people or to obtain them in due course in conformity with the current law? The latter seems to be a better option. But it takes time. There shouldn’t be any rush, nor any haste," he stressed.

Golunov was detained in Moscow on suspicion of selling narcotics on June 6, 2019. On June 8, he was placed under house arrest. An enormous outflow of support from the public and a subsequent high-profile campaign resulted in his release on June 11, and all charges were later dismissed. Moscow’s Basmanny Court on January 30, 2020 arrested a number of former police officers, charging them with the abuse of office, falsification of evidence and drug trafficking. The investigators say the police officers had illegally obtained narcotics and planted them on Golunov.

Episode 4 of the video interview is available at https://putin.tass.ru/en.

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