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Russian Investigative Committee questions five ex-police officers in Golunov case

While speaking to TASS, Golunov was hopeful that a trial against the former police officers would be fair

© Alexander Shchebak/TASS, archive

MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. Five former officers from the police force of Moscow’s Western Administrative District have been brought to the Russian Investigative Committee’s office for questioning in the case of Meduza news website reporter Ivan Golunov, a committee spokesperson told TASS.

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Reporter Ivan Golunov acknowledged as victim in police abuse of power case

"Five former officers from the Moscow Police Drug Control Unit in the Western Administrative District have been brought to the Investigative Committee’s office in connection with the so-called Ivan Golunov case. Investigators are questioning them," the spokesperson said.

A law enforcement source earlier told TASS that former Chief of the Western Administrative District’s Police Drug Control Unit Andrei Shchirov had been detained in the case on suspicion of abuse of office, as well as former detectives from the Western Administrative District’s police force Roman Feofanov, Maxim Umetbayev, Akbar Sergaliyev and Denis Konovalov.

While speaking to TASS on Wednesday, Golunov was hopeful that a trial against the former police officers would be fair. "I am pleased to see progress in the case but justice will be done when there is a court ruling. I hope it will be a fair one," the reporter said.

Golunov case

Golunov was detained in downtown Mocsow on June 6. According to police, the reporter was carrying four grams of mephedrone, a synthetic stimulant drug, while five grams of cocaine were found during a search of his rented apartment. Moscow’s Nikulinsky District Court placed the journalist under house arrest. Golunov’s lawyer said that the drugs could have been planted on his client. All charges were eventually dropped on June 11 and Golunov was set free.

President Vladimir Putin said at his annual news conference in December that Russia’s Investigative Committee had opened criminal cases against five former police officers following Golunov’s detention.

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