Investigation into Ivan Golunov's arrest stalls, after detectives are reassigned to go after opposition demonstrators

The investigation into the suspicious circumstances surrounding the arrest of Meduza correspondent Ivan Golunov (who was briefly charged with intent to distribute illegal narcotics) has reportedly stalled. A source told the news agency Interfax that the case has slowed because the investigative team reviewing the arrest has been reassigned to help facilitate the prosecution of several opposition demonstrators charged with a variety of crimes during Moscow’s summer protests.

Interfax’s source says an investigative group led by Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Shachnev was reassigned back in August, roughly two months after Golunov’s controversial arrest on June 6, when police planted drugs on the journalist and briefly claimed to have found a larger stash at his home. With the detectives busy hunting down evidence against demonstrators, progress in the Golunov case has stopped, says Interfax.

Russia’s Federal Investigative Committee has declined to comment on the absence of any findings in its review of Ivan Golunov’s arrest. In September, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that the investigation is ongoing.

On September 26, journalists learned that three of the police officers who arrested Golunov are suing the Interior Ministry to get back their jobs.