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Russian investigative journalist Ivan Golunov has been charged with trying to illegally sell drugs, prominent rights lawyer Pavel Chikov says.

He says Mr Golunov became ill at a Moscow police station, but doctors were not allowed in for some time. Russian officials have made no public comments.

The 36-year-old reporter for the Latvia-based news site Meduza was held by police on Thursday.

His lawyer says drugs were planted on him, but the authorities deny this.

Meduza says he is being "being persecuted because of his journalistic activity".

Mr Golunov was officially charged on Saturday morning, Mr Chikov said.

He added that a doctor examined the reporter and found he had "a suspected rib fracture, concussion and haematoma". The reporter also needed to be taken to hospital.

The Russian authorities have not commented on this.

Mr Golunov appeared handcuffed in a video clip posted to social media on Friday night. He said he was involved in "scuffles" with police, showing bruises.

He has repeatedly exposed corruption among Moscow's high-profile businesspeople and its political elite, as well as fraudulent financial schemes in the city.

"We will find out by whose will Vanya [Ivan] is being pursued, and we will make this information public," Meduza's director Galina Timchenko and editor Ivan Kolpakov said.

"We will protect our journalist by all available means."

They added that Mr Golunov had received threats over the last few months, in connection with an as-yet-unpublished story he had been working on.

His arrest sparked protests in Moscow and St Petersburg, and more than a dozen people - mostly fellow journalists - were reportedly detained and later released.

In recent years many opposition figures and human rights activists in Russia have been detained on apparently fabricated drugs charges, which are widely seen as an attempt to quash political dissent.

Ivan Golunov was on his way to meet another journalist on Thursday when he was stopped and searched by officers.

They claim they found the synthetic drug mephedrone in his rucksack, and that a later search of his flat turned up more drugs and some scales - indicating that he was involved in dealing.

Meduza said he was beaten up by officers both during his arrest and later at the police station.

Mr Golunov's lawyer, Dmitry Julay, told reporters that he had been denied food and sleep for more than 24 hours.

BBC Russian journalist Olga Ivshina reports that police released photos they claimed showed drug paraphernalia in Mr Golunov's flat, but these were later withdrawn.

The police, she adds, admitted that "most of the published photos had not been taken at Mr Golunov's flat after all, but were related to another criminal investigation that might be linked to his detention".

Journalists in Russia have often been harassed or attacked in recent years for their work.

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.

He was only able to contact a friend after 14 hours, the statement added.

In the first video of Mr Golunov since his arrest, posted by the Russian news site Breaking Mash, he lifts up his shirt to reveal what appear to be carpet burns on his back.

for no actual gain

I see the leftist votedown squad is at work.

Quote:

55%-45%,

That is not a majority if it includes 45%. Do you need a math and civics course? I would say "fail" but that secret about your posts is it out.

"By 55%-45%, those surveyed oppose the so-called fetal heartbeat laws", it says. That means 55% (a majority) opposes them, and 45% (a minority) does not.

Peru strengthens laws restricting Venezuelan migrants from entry

“We are strengthening and continuing the task of expelling those bad elements, who have used information and taken advantage (of it) and entered Peru; bad persons, who have committed crimes (in Venezuela) and including those who are wanted (in Venezuela) and are here in our country.” — Martin Vizcarra, President – Peru

Turkey has been given a deadline of the end of July to choose between buying US fighter jets and Russian anti-aircraft missile systems.

Acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan set out the ultimatum in a letter to his Turkish counterpart, Hulusi Akar.

Turkey, he said, could not have both America's F-35 advanced fighter jets and Russia's S-400 systems.

The two Nato allies have been locked in a row over the S-400 for months.

America argues that the Russian systems are both incompatible with Nato defence systems and pose a security threat, and wants Turkey to buy its Patriot anti-aircraft systems instead.

Turkey, which has been pursuing an increasingly independent defence policy, has signed up to buying 100 F-35s, and has invested heavily in the F-35 programme, with Turkish companies producing 937 of the plane's parts.

Mr Shanahan says in his letter that the US is "disappointed" to hear that Turkish personnel have been sent to Russia to train on the S-400.

"Turkey will not receive the F-35 if Turkey takes delivery of the S-400," he writes. "You still have the option to change course on the S-400."

"We do not want to have the F-35 in close proximity to the S-400 over a period of time because of the ability to understand the profile of the F-35 on that particular piece of equipment," US Under Secretary of Defence Ellen Lord told reporters.

The first four F-35s due to be delivered to Turkey have still not left the US, officially to allow Turkish pilots to train in them in America.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday his country was "determined" to proceed with the S-400 deal.

"Unfortunately we haven't received a positive proposal from the American side on the subject of Patriots like the S-400s from Russia," he said.

Turkey has the second-largest army in Nato, a 29-member military alliance set up to defend against what was at the time the Soviet Union.

The head of Russia's state defence conglomerate Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, was quoted as saying on Friday that Russia would start delivering the S-400 to Turkey in "about two months".

The S-400 "Triumf" is one of the most sophisticated surface-to-air missile systems in the world.

It has a range of 400km (250 miles), and one S-400 integrated system can shoot down up to 80 targets simultaneously.

Russia says it can hit aerial targets ranging from low-flying drones to aircraft flying at various altitudes and long-range missiles.

Yes. Your mistake. What a aurprise.

I'm really getting tired of Turkey.