Kremlin Says Putin Did Not See Russian Expert's Request To Review All Drug-Related Cases

Russian President Vladimir Putin has not seen an appeal of a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences requesting the authorities to review all criminal drug-related cases following the detention of anti-corruption journalist Ivan Golunov, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th June, 2019) Russian President Vladimir Putin has not seen an appeal of a member of the Russian academy of Sciences requesting the authorities to review all criminal drug-related cases following the detention of anti-corruption journalist Ivan Golunov, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, media reported that Russian academician Andrei Vorobyov, the head of an independent advisory board on psychoactive substances abuse, had sent a letter to Putin and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev with a request to review all drug-related criminal cases involving Articles 228, 228.1 and 229 of the Russian Criminal Code.

"No, the president has not yet seen this appeal of the member of the Russian Academy of Sciences," Peskov told reporters answering a relevant question.

When asked whether the president would support an initiative of the Russian lower house to mitigate Article 228 of the Russian Criminal Code on "Illegal Acquisition, Storage, Transportation, Making or Processing of Narcotic Drugs" Peskov said that the Kremlin "was not aware of such an initiative.

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"If there is such an initiative, if it is formulated, then it will be considered accordingly. It is impossible to consider abstract legislative initiatives, because they must be formulated in a specific way," the spokesman added.

Article 228 of the Russian Criminal Code has recently been making headlines in the Russian media due to a case against investigative journalist Golunov, who was charged with large-scale possession of narcotics with the intent to sell, which is a serious crime in Russia.

The story has drawn massive attention both from the authorities and journalistic community. Three leading Russian newspapers issued a joint statement voicing their concern that Golunov had been framed and his case might be linked to the fact that he investigated corruption cases.

On Tuesday, Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said that charges against Golunov had been dropped due to the lack of evidence against him.