Ivan Golunov's attorney refutes reports of criminal charges against police

Sergey Badamshin, an attorney for Meduza correspondent Ivan Golunov, told Meduza that he has not received any reports of a criminal case against the police who arrested Golunov in early June. Golunov was framed for drug possession and distribution charges before a massive solidarity campaign helped trigger his release.

Badamshin added that the investigator responsible for the drug case that was opened against Golunov in June denied that any additional cases had been opened in the matter.

Both Meduza and the Telegram-based outlet Baza reported on July 17 that an official overreach case had been opened against the officers involved in Golunov’s arrest. That information was based on tips from anonymous sources, and it was never officially confirmed.