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Putin Ally Says Drugs Case Against Russian Journalist a 'Very Bad Story'

Valentina Matviyenko Совет Федерации / Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament, on Tuesday called the case against Ivan Golunov, an investigative journalist charged with drug offenses, a "very bad story," Interfax reported.

The comments, by a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, are likely to encourage supporters of Golunov who believe he was framed and have organized protests demanding the charges against him be dropped.

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