MOSCOW -- Russian investigative journalist Ivan Golunov whose arrest on fabricated illegal drug charges caused a mass outcry and rallies in Moscow in June, has received the Anna Politkovskaya award for professional courage.
Receiving the award, called the Kamerton prize, at a special ceremony in Moscow, on September 8, the 36-year-old Golunov said he hoped that nobody would ever face the situation he was put in in June.
"This is not my award, this is an award to all of us," Golunov said.
Moscow police arrested Golunov in June on drug charges, but released him days later in the face of public outrage over what colleagues and protesters said were transparently flimsy and fabricated allegations.
Several high-ranking Moscow police officials were later fired over the incident, and a number of investigations were launched.
The Kamerton prize was established by Russia's Journalists' Union in 2013 in honor of the prominent investigative journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, who was assassinated near her apartment block in Moscow in 2006.
The award is given to journalists for courage and adherence to the principles of speech freedom.
Russian Journalist Golunov Receives Anna Politkovskaya Award For Courage
Russian journalist Ivan Golunov (file photo)