MOSCOW, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Five former Russian policemen will face criminal charges for planting drugs in a backpack belonging to investigative journalist Ivan Golunov, the Russian Investigative Committee said Wednesday.
The committee said in a statement that the five ex-policemen were detained after an investigation showed that they falsified the results of operational-search activities.
The narcotics planted on the journalist were previously illegally acquired, stored and carried by the former policemen, it said.
A reporter with an independent media outlet, Golunov was involved in exposing corruption cases among Moscow officials, was detained on the street in June and charged with carrying illegal drugs, facing up to 20 years in prison.
Golunov was freed and the charges were dropped shortly after three major newspapers ran a similar front page expressing solidarity with the journalist, while hundreds of his colleagues took to the street to protest.
Five policemen involved in Golunov's detention were relieved of their duties.
