Investigative journalist put under house arrest in Moscow

Russian investigative journalist Ivan Golunov, who was detained by police and accused of drug offences, reacts inside a defendants' cage as he attends a court hearing in Moscow, Russia June 8, 2019. [Reuters]

Russian investigative journalist Ivan Golunov was placed under two months’ house arrest in Moscow on Saturday while he is investigated for drug peddling, as a court rejected a request from investigators to hold him in custody.

Golunov, 36, was on his way to a meeting with a source on Thursday when he was detained in central Moscow and illegal drugs were found in his rucksack, according to police and his employer, the online news portal Meduza, based in Latvia.