MOSCOW, June 11 (RAPSI) – The Moscow Commercial Court has scheduled a defamation claim filed by the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization “TV- Novosti” (TV- Novosti) running RT TV channel against Alexey Navalny, Lyubov Sobol and Znak news agency for September 15, according to court records.

On June 5, the court put the application on hold because of its improper execution and asked the claimant to submit certain additional information.

In September, the court will also hear another suit over protection of business reputation lodged by businessman Oleg Deripaska against Alexey Navalny. September 3 is set as the hearing date. The applicant seeks to oblige the defendant to refute information distributed in several videos on the Youtube-channel of Navalny. Moreover, the tycoon demands a 1-ruble moral compensation from the blogger.

Moreover, in March, the Supreme Court dismissed Navalny’s motion to reconsider a ruling in his defamation dispute with the Crimean meat processing plant Druzhba Narodov ordering the blogger to remove and refute information on the enterprise he had distributed. 

The Moscow Commercial Court ruled in favor of Druzhba Narodov on February 12, 2019. The court declared information distributed by Navalny in one of his videos untrue and discrediting the plant’s business standing.

The statements read that the meat processing plant inflated prices for food products purveyed for the National Guard, delivered bad quality goods and accused the plant employees of embezzlement during supplies.

According to the court ruling, the defendant did not furnish evidence of credibility of the disseminated information.

On July 26, 2019, the Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals upheld the ruling.