Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Russian authorities on the recent arrest and alleged physical abuse of investigative journalist Ivan Golunov.

The UK welcomes the dropping of charges against Russian investigative journalist Ivan Golunov. The Foreign Secretary and I publicly voiced our deep concern following Mr Golunov's arrest. We hope his release is indicative of a movement towards greater press freedom in Russia. We will continue to call on Russia to respect freedom of speech and expression, and will continue to defend media freedom.