14/06/2019 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday 13 June, an EU spokesperson urged the Russian authorities to guarantee the right of the country's citizens to assemble peacefully, as provided for in its Constitution and international commitments. The day before in Moscow, 500 participants in peaceful demonstrations had been arrested and taken to police stations, including journalists. They were demonstrating against police misconduct and in favour of investigative journalist Ivan Golounov, arrested by the police who claim to have discovered drugs in his home, before being exonerated and released due to an unprecedented mobilisation of civil society. The authorities must release “peaceful demonstrators and journalists without delay”, the spokesperson stressed, who also denounced the fact that “in several cases, the authorities had apparently resorted to violence” against them. (CG)