Freed journalist Golunov ‘touched’ by public support but uncomfortable with sudden popularity
Ivan Golunov, the investigative journalist detained by Moscow in a suspected set-up that triggered a wave of public discontent, has told RT that he’s shocked his story has received so much attention.
“I thought maybe the story would hit the top news on Yandex [a popular Russian news aggregator] and then fade away. I was really surprised that the support was that huge and I am very grateful to everyone who came up and supported me,” he said.
Golunov, who specializes in investigating corruption among Moscow officials, was snatched from the street in central Moscow on Thursday last week and accused by the police of being a drug dealer. The police offered sketchy evidence to support their allegation, while the journalist claimed that he had been framed by corrupt officers.
The news resulted in several days of demonstrations in Moscow and other cities, and an unprecedented wave of pressure on the government. Journalists and public figures also demanded a thorough inquiry into the alleged abuse of power by the police. Three leading newspapers printed nearly identical front pages on Monday, running a joint statement in support of Golunov.
The public outrage over the case was partially fueled by Golunov’s account of being abused while in police custody. He said he was denied his right to legal representation for hours and even physically abused by the police.
“My goal was to get a lawyer. I realized they could plant something on me and had to be careful. I didn’t get emotional, like scared or angry,” he said.
He said being accused of dealing drugs seemed especially absurd to him.
Never in my life had I anything to do with drugs. I didn’t use, didn’t possess and absolutely never dealt [drugs]. If the accusation was somewhat more plausible, I may have felt differently.
On Tuesday this week, Russia’s interior minister announced that all charges against Golonov had been dropped due to a lack of substantive evidence against him. The police officers suspected of planting drugs to justify prosecution are now suspended and are the subject of an investigation. Two Moscow police generals have lost their jobs over the scandal.
The journalist says he didn’t learn about the scale of support for him until his first court appearance a few days after his detention, which ended with him being placed under house arrest.
“When the court was deciding whether to keep me in custody, there was shouting coming from outside the closed windows. I was really touched when I heard it,” he said. “And only after the charges were dropped I found out that there had been plenty of people demonstrating in front of the police station, that companies would deliver free pizzas to protesters.”
Golunov said that he has yet to digest what happened to him and really regrets the publicity that came with it.
“I really wish I could go back and make it unhappen. Then I could go along and do my job which I really love despite saying often about how I’m tired to do it,” he said. “People recognize me. I had to buy a cap from a street cleaner and start wearing sunglasses to calm things down.”
When you stop for a smoke and strangers come and say: ‘Is that you? Our congratulations, we have been rooting for you’ – that is somewhat of a surprise. The scale of it is yet to sink in.
Golunov added he is yet to determine whether national fame is compatible with being an investigative journalist. What he does know is that he wants to effect positive change, but it probably won’t be through capitalizing on his newfound name recognition.
“If I can be of help, I will be. But I am not a person to go ‘I am the Ivan Golunov, let me show you the way to a better world,'” he said.
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