Ivan Golunov, an investigative journalist with Russia's Meduza news outlet, has said that a total of 12 journalists are helping him with an expose article he started and that may have led to his arrest earlier in June
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th June, 2019) Ivan Golunov, an investigative journalist with Russia's Meduza news outlet, has said that a total of 12 journalists are helping him with an expose article he started and that may have led to his arrest earlier in June.Before being detained on June 6, Golunov was working on a new story about the black market in Russia's mortuary business. Golunov has repeatedly stated that it was for this work that he was detained.
"I don't know yet how [the article] will look like. But I hope it will be a text created by a dozen investigative journalists. So it will be just harder to work with ten people than with only one person," Golunov said in an interview with the RT broadcaster.
He also noted that a group of 12 investigative journalists from four media outlets had gathered while he had been under house arrest to collect new information for the article and verify everything that was already written. Golunov said that he had not seen his colleagues' work yet but that he was going to meet with them in the nearest future.
Asked whether he felt under threat, Golunov said that he had never been in such a situation before and was feeling uncomfortable, even taking additional measures to ensure his safety such as wearing a disguise.
"I had to buy a cap from a Tajik street cleaner for 500 rubles and to put on sun glasses, and then everything calmed down. Because it feels OK when people recognize you in a friendly place, but it is surprising when you are smoking on the street and people approach to you and ask 'It it you? Congratulations! We were rooting for you,'" Golunov said.
However, the journalist stated that he was absolutely open to sharing his experience and helping those in need.
Golunov mentioned that his friends had noticed he was being followed as early as in April but that he himself had seen nothing of the kind.
"We were walking with my colleagues and they noticed a man following us on a very winding route. Unfortunately, it was them who noticed him, [not me], and this was my biggest mistake," Golunov said.
He then went on to give details about his time in custody, recalling how a policeman had punched him in the face twice.
"The first time I said I would not go anywhere and I would sit here until my lawyer or the police arrived. That sounds quite funny, me demanding to call the police at the police station. Nevertheless, I said that I would not go anywhere, that 'you can carry me out'. And somehow this phrase angered one of the policemen, so he hit me twice in the face. I did not understand why," Golunov said.
The journalist added that he had repeatedly demanded that his relatives be informed about his detention and asked for a call to his lawyer. He was denied any calls. In turn, the journalist refused to sign any papers, apart from medical examination documents, without his lawyer present.
Golunov also said that he had written about being denied phone calls on every paper the police wanted him to sign but that these papers ended up disappearing from the dossier.
The second time the police used force against the journalist was after he visited a medical facility.
"They were dragging me down the stairs and then dragged me outside. One policeman went to bring the car closer and the second policeman stepped on my chest. So, this is how we were waiting for the car to arrive. Then they grabbed my arms and my legs and pushed me into the back seat of the car," the journalist said.
He also mentioned that he began collecting information for the new article about the mortuary business back in February but only started working intensively on it in May.
The police detained Golunov, who is known for his corruption-related stories, on June 6 after finding drugs in his possession. Golunov, who insisted he had been framed and the drugs had been planted, was put under house arrest. On Tuesday, Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said that charges against Golunov had been dropped due to lack of evidence.
