Russian journalist accused of drug dealing tests negative for drugs

No traces of drugs have been found in samples taken from Ivan Golunov, a Russian investigative journalist, who was charged with drug dealing last Saturday in a controversial case. He claims he was set up by corrupt officers.

Hand swabs and nail clippings taken from Golunov after his arrest came back clean from an Interior Ministry forensic lab. The results of the tests were reported by the rights center Agora, which is involved in defending Golunov in court. Agora’s boss published the report on the social media on Monday.

Separate tests of Golunov’s biological samples found no traces of illegal drugs, a senior narcotics official in the Health Ministry said, adding that the tests of the body fluids were still under way.

Golonuv has repeatedly stated that he never used or handled drugs.

The journalist was detained last week by Moscow police, who said they found illegal drugs in his possession and accused him of being a drug dealer. Golunov said corrupt police officers planted the evidence in his backpack and home, and that they were likely acting on behalf of senior officials who didn’t like his latest journalistic investigation. He told the court that he received threats over the probe before the arrest.

The case against Golunov sparked a major scandal in Russia, with many journalists and public figures speaking out in his support and demanding a transparent investigation into the police unit, which was involved in his arrest.

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