MOSCOW, September 14 - RAPSI. An appeals court upheld on Wednesday a lower court's rejection of Yelena Baturina's second defamation lawsuit against NTV, a prominent Russian television channel, the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI) reported from the courtroom.

Baturina is the wife of former Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov and head of Inteco, a major construction company also engaged in development and petrochemistry.

Baturina filed a defamation lawsuit based upon an allegation broadcast by NTV that she influenced the decision-making process to build a federal road through Khimky Forest.

The trial court held against her lawsuit in March and an appellate court upheld its judgment. The federal commercial court denied the appeals filed by her and Inteco against these decisions on Wednesday.

Baturina's attorney told journalists after the hearing that today's ruling will be challenged and his client is determined to "go all the way" in this dispute.

Baturina earlier filed another defamation suit against NTV over an allegation broadcasted by the channel that she had sold land at inflated prices. The Moscow Commercial Court also rejected this suit, which was upheld by both the courts of appeals and cassation.