Hundreds of people have been detained at a Moscow rally demanding punishment for police who detained an anti-corruption journalist.

Officers in riot gear clashed with protesters during the unauthorised march in support of Ivan Golunov.

Among those detained at the rally were fellow journalists as well as opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Mr Golunov was freed on Tuesday after drug-dealing charges against him were dropped following a public outcry.

Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokotsev said officers who had taken part in his detention would be suspended during an investigation.

Three major Russian newspapers had earlier rallied round the freelance journalist in a rare public show of support.

Russian authorities said more than 200 were detained at the Moscow protest, although one monitoring group put the number at more than 400.

Protesters waved banners and wore T-shirts with the slogan "I/We are Ivan Golunov" and accused police of using criminal behaviour in arresting the reporter.

A number of journalists at the rally were also detained, including a member of staff at German magazine Der Spiegel.

Footage of the arrests and of the crowds gathered in the centre of the city were shared on social media.

The march was originally organised to demand Mr Golunov's release but then became a call for those responsible for his initial detention to be held accountable.

The interior minister admitted that Mr Golunov's guilt had "not been proven", and that an internal inquiry had been launched.

"I believe that the rights of every citizen, regardless of his profession, must be protected," he asserted.

Mr Golunov, 36, had been working for the Latvia-based, independent news website Meduza, among others. The website was established by Russian journalists from Lenta.ru, who formed their own outlet abroad after a takeover by a new pro-Kremlin owner.

His reporting included coverage of the loan shark business, the earnings of the family of Moscow's deputy mayor, the unusually high cost of public works in the Russian capital, and the alleged censorship of journalists.

Mr Golunov was on his way to meet another journalist in Moscow last week when he was stopped and searched by police officers.

Officers said they had discovered the drug mephedrone in his bag and more drugs and weighing scales in a search of his home. Reports said he was beaten during his arrest.

The journalist's lawyers and press freedom activists said the drugs had been planted in order to silence the investigative journalist. Much of Russia's media is controlled by the state and Russia is ranked 83rd out of 100 countries for press freedom by Freedom House.

Supporters immediately claimed the journalist was innocent and a victim of fabricated drug charges, which activists say are used against opposition figures and human rights activists by the Russian state. (BBC)

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