17 June
Some 1,600 people have taken part in a rally in Moscow calling for press freedom, less than a week after Russian police dropped drug-related charges against a reporter.
Sunday's protest followed growing criticism that the arrest of Ivan Golunov earlier this month was politically motivated.
Golunov, who works for a news website, had been reporting on corruption in the Moscow city government and the private sector.
A senior member of the group that organized the rally said a number of journalists have been arrested since last year.
He said it should not be forgotten that more than 300 journalists were killed in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
An editor-in-chief of a local newspaper said police seized 100,000 copies of an edition with an article about a problem with garbage collection. He said the authorities are afraid of citizens finding out the truth.
President Vladimir Putin dismissed two senior police officials after Golunov was released last Tuesday.
NHK
