MOSCOW: A Russian journalist known for investigating corruption among Moscow city officials has been detained by police and accused of drug offenses, police said on Friday, but his lawyer, his employer and colleagues said he had been framed.
The journalist, 36-year-old Ivan Golunov, was detained in central Moscow on Thursday on his way to a meeting with a source when illegal drugs were found in his rucksack, according to police and his employer, the online news portal Meduza.
In a statement, Moscow police said a search of Golunov’s apartment had produced more drugs and some scales, and that they had opened a criminal investigation. If found guilty of large-scale drug selling, he could be jailed for 10 to 20 years.
Dmitry Djulai, Golunov’s lawyer, told Reuters he believed police had planted the drugs on his client to frame him. He said Golunov had been beaten, and that police had refused to take swabs from his hands or the rucksack or to take fingernail samples to see if he had been in contact with drugs.
Djulai said the police had also refused to call medics to catalogue the injuries that police had inflicted. Moscow police said the allegations that Golunov had been beaten as he was arrested “do not correspond to reality.”
Golunov is well known in Russia for his investigations into graft in the capital. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin.
Sobyanin on Friday ordered the head of Moscow’s police force to take the investigation under his personal control and to ensure the matter was dealt with objectively, Russian news agencies reported.
The editorial management of Meduza, which is based in Latvia, said in a statement that Golunov had received threats in recent months in connection with a story he was working on.
“We are convinced that Ivan Golunov is innocent,” the statement read. “Moreover, we have grounds to believe that Golunov is being persecuted because of his journalistic activity.”
Dozens of Russian journalists protested against Golunov’s detention outside Moscow police headquarters on Friday. Police detained at least 10 of them before later letting them go.
A Reuters witness said a long line of journalists was nonetheless waiting to take turns to stage one-person protests, the only form of legal protest in Russia which does not require prior permission from the authorities.
Russian anti-corruption journalist detained in Moscow
Russian anti-corruption journalist detained in Moscow
- Dozens of Russian journalists protested against Golunov’s detention outside Moscow police headquarters on Friday. Police detained at least 10 of them before later letting them go
Apple, Google offer app store changes under new UK rules
LONDON: Apple and Google have pledged changes to ensure fairness in their app stores, the UK competition watchdog said Tuesday, describing it as “first steps” under its tougher regulation of technology giants.
The Competition and Markets Authority placed the two companies under “strategic market status” last year, giving it powers to impose stricter rules on their mobile platforms.
Apple and Google have submitted packages of commitments to improve fairness and transparency in their app stores, which the CMA is now consulting market participants on.
The proposals cover data collection, how apps are reviewed and ranked and improved access to their mobile operating systems.
They aim to prevent Apple and Google from giving priority to their own apps and to ensure businesses receive fairer terms for delivering apps to customers, including better access to tools to compete with services like the Apple digital wallet.
“These are important first steps while we continue to work on a broad range of additional measures to improve Apple and Google’s app store services in the UK,” said CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell.
The commitments mark the first changes proposed by US tech giants in response to the UK’s digital markets regulation, which came into force last year.
The UK framework is similar to a tech competition law from the European Union, the Digital Markets Act, which carries the potential for hefty financial penalties.
“The commitments announced today allow Apple to continue advancing important privacy and security innovations for users and great opportunities for developers,” an Apple spokesperson said.
The CMA in October found that Apple and Google held an “effective duopoly,” with around 90 to 100 percent of UK mobile services running on their platforms.
A Google spokesperson said existing practices in its Play online store are “fair, objective and transparent.”
“We welcome the opportunity to resolve the CMA’s concerns collaboratively,” they added.
The changes are set to take effect in April, subject to the outcome of a market consultation.
