Moscow (AFP)

Five former police officers accused of hiding drugs from an investigative journalist to arrest him were sentenced Friday to five to 12 years in prison in Russia, following a rare trial of members law enforcement.

The arrest of Ivan Golunov, a journalist for the independent news website Meduza, strongly mobilized civil society in June 2019 and shed light on police corruption in Russia, which has been one of the pillars of the system led since twenty years by Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Golunov, 38, was arrested in Moscow by police who said they had found large quantities of drugs in his backpack and in his apartment.

Extremely rare, the reporter was finally exonerated and released five days later, after an exceptional mobilization of the media, anonymous and even some personalities of the Russian elite.

The five police officers who apprehended him were subsequently dismissed from their posts and arrested.

Denis Konovalov, the only accused to have admitted the facts, was sentenced to five years in the colony, according to the same source.

Each of the culprits will also have to pay the victim one million rubles, about 11,000 euros at the current rate.

- First step accomplished -

Mr. Golunov said he was "satisfied with the court's decision", speaking to the press after the verdict was issued.

"I promised to obtain justice. And the first step has been accomplished", he underlined, specifying that it remained from now on to establish the name of the sponsors.

The five police officers convicted Friday were prosecuted for "abuse of power", "forgery" of evidence, "drug trafficking", "organized group crime".

According to the prosecution, the defendants illegally acquired "cocaine and mephedrone" which they then concealed in the journalist's apartment.

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The sentences handed down on Friday are heavy, but less than what the prosecutor had requested.

He claimed 16, 12 and seven years for the different protagonists.

Known for his investigations into corruption at Moscow City Hall or embezzlement in sectors such as microcredit and funeral directors, Ivan Golunov works for Meduza, whose editorial office is located in Riga, the capital of Latvia.

The survival of this site is however threatened, the Russian authorities having decided at the end of April to classify it "agent of the foreigner", a statute reserved for the organizations financed from abroad and generally at odds with the Kremlin.

This status is seen as a foil for potential advertisers, but wanting not to quarrel with the authorities.

Meduza is therefore now counting on the generosity of its readers to survive.

In Russia, organizations or individuals classified as "foreign agents" must, under a law of 2012, register with the authorities, carry out tedious administrative procedures and clearly indicate this status in their publications.

Meduza thus accompanies each article it publishes on Twitter with a message explaining that the site is "an agent from abroad".

© 2021 AFP