People took to the streets in several Russian cities to participate in demonstrations called "Society Demands Justice" aimed against criminal case fabrications organised in connection with the case of the journalist Ivan Golunov.
Demonstrations took place in Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Novokuznetsk, Saratov, Omsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaliningrad, Samara and Makhachkala with dozens of people protesting.
In Vladivostok, a rally of journalists lasted about an hour and gathered over 30 participants. It was a peaceful event. Journalists collected signatures appealing to the head of the Investigation Committee and the Prosecutor General to conduct a full and thorough investigation into the case of Ivan Golunov, the tweet says.
Во Владивостоке пикет журналистов продолжался около часа и собрал больше 30 участников. Пикет прошёл мирно. Журналисты собирали подписи под обращением к главе СК и генпрокурору о проведении полного и тщательного расследования по делу Ивана Голунова. pic.twitter.com/RwJkn6OC2N
— Профсоюз журналистов (@PZhurnalist) 23 июня 2019 г.
A rally in Khabarovsk was held without violations or detentions. About a hundred people gathered on Komsomolskaya Square, according to the tweet.
Митинг в Хабаровске прошёл без нарушений и задержаний. На Комсомольской площади собралось около ста человек. Со сцены выступили члены руководящего комитета Хабаровского отделения ЛПР Артём Мозгов и Максим Ихсанов, а также представители штаба Навального, КПРФ и желающие из публики pic.twitter.com/n0kHtaMgOZ
— Либертарианская партия России (ЛПР) (@lpr_tw) 23 июня 2019 г.
Demonstrators in Omsk and Saratov also held rallies, with dozens protesting on the streets.
Пикет в Омске завершился, в нём приняли участие около 20 человек — либертарианцы и активисты штаба Навального. Полиция в ход акции не вмешивалась.
— Либертарианская партия России (ЛПР) (@lpr_tw) 23 июня 2019 г.
«Всё прошло мирно, если не считать неизвестного парня, который агрессивно вёл полемику по методичке НОДа (Россия — компания и т.п.)» pic.twitter.com/ntjKXTjFPZ
Some 200 people gathered for a rally in Nizhny Novgorod, expressing their support to the Russian journalist. A rally supporting Golunov was also held in Kaliningrad.
На фото: митинг в Калининграде pic.twitter.com/HH9YKKGAz6
— Либертарианская партия России (ЛПР) (@lpr_tw) 23 июня 2019 г.
According to the website of the organizers and reports in social networks, rallies will also take place in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don.
Russian police detained Golunov, a writer known for his corruption-related stories, after claiming that they found drugs in his possession. Golunov, who insists that he has been framed with planted substances, was put under house arrest. On 18 June, Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said that charges against Golunov had been dropped, due to lack of evidence.
Following the incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed two senior Moscow police officials, Gen. Andrei Puchkov and Gen. Yuri Devyatkin, who had been involved in the probe.
