Putin's Spokesman Says 'Nothing Wrong' About Pro-Golunov T-Shirt At Kremlin Event

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday there was nothing wrong about a girl wearing a T-shirt with a slogan in support of journalist Ivan Golunov at a Kremlin event

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th June, 2019) Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday there was nothing wrong about a girl wearing a T-shirt with a slogan in support of journalist Ivan Golunov at a Kremlin event.

The girl accompanied her father, pianist Nikolai Lugansky, to the Kremlin on Wednesday to receive an award from Vladimir Putin. Peskov said the president noticed the T-shirt emblazoned with "I/We are Ivan Golunov."

"Of course, it was noticed. She sat in the first row. But there was nothing wrong about it ... It was not an illegal slogan and nothing to ask questions or be surprised by," the spokesman said.

Golunov, a freelance investigative journalist working for Latvian-based news website Meduza, was arrested last week on drug dealing charges, which were dropped on Tuesday over lack of evidence.

The arrest prompted a major backlash, with Russian media and protesters condemning it as an attack on freedom of speech. Moscow ombudswoman Tatiana Potyaeva said she was monitoring the probe.

Earlier in the day, Putin dismissed Gen. Andrei Puchkov and Gen. Yuri Devyatkin at the Interior Ministry on the request of Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev.