Ivan Golunov, investigative journalist of the online newspaper Meduza, attends an arrest warrant hearing at Moscow's Nikulinsky District Court; Golunov was detained on June 6 on suspicion of drug dealing, a search in his flat revealing five grams of cocaine.

A public outcry has erupted in Russia following the arrest and charging of an investigative journalist in Russia with drug offences in what critics say was an attempt to frame the reporter and restrict the freedom of the press.

Investigative journalist Ivan Golunov, who writes for independent Russian-language news website Meduza, was arrested last Thursday and charged over the weekend with possessing drugs with intent to supply.

The arrest and charges of Golunov have been widely seen as motivated by revenge, however, as Golunov is known to investigate political corruption. His employer Meduza, which is based in Latvia, put a statement on its website last Friday stating that Golunov was being threatened.

"We are convinced that Ivan Golunov is innocent. Moreover, we have reason to believe that Golunov is being persecuted because of his journalistic activities. We know that in recent months, Van has been threatened," it said.

Amid an outcry at his arrest, Golunov has unusually been put under house arrest rather than police custody until August 7, Russian news agency TASS reported. His lawyers insist that the police had planted the drugs on Golunov and the journalist has pleaded not guilty to the drug dealing charges, TASS said.

His detention is seen as another example of harassment against journalists in Russia, a country in which numerous journalists have been harassed, attacked or murdered with attacks believed to be linked to the journalists' investigative work and revelations of corruption.

Unlike many previous cases of journalist harassment, however, Golunov's case has prompted a public outcry with protests outside Moscow's police headquarters on Monday and calls for a bigger march on Wednesday, the New York TImes reported Monday.