![Russian investigative journalist Ivan Golunov is set to be freed on Tuesday afternoon [Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/Images/2019/6/11/2531eaae5ca448058ed5e4d7096ca463_18.jpg)
Russian authorities have dropped drugs charges against investigative journalist Ivan Golunov, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev has announced. The 36-year-old is set to be freed from house arrest on Tuesday afternoon.
His arrest last week sparked an international outcry over the treatment of independent journalists who are critical of authorities in Russia.
An internal inquiry is under way, Kolokoltsev said, adding that the police officers who detained Golunov had been suspended.
The interior minister also said he would ask President Vladimir Putin to fire top Moscow police generals, including the head of the city’s narcotics agency, over the handling of the case.
“This is a very surprising turnaround of events,” said Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen, reporting from Moscow. “Similar cases here have previously got caught up in Russia’s legal system with no way to get out, with the Kremlin saying they were unable to free a detained person – and Golunov’s supporters were very worried he would meet the same fate.
Global News 
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