Court sides with deputy in dispute with Sochi blogger

One of Sochi district courts has obliged Anna Kolmagortseva, a local blogger, to remove the post, which became the reason for the lawsuit lodged by Victor Teplyakov, a deputy of the territorial legislature, and publish a refutation. The court has denied the deputy's claim of compensation in the amount of 300,000 roubles, estimating the moral harm suffered by Teplyakov at 1000 roubles.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Teplyakov had filed a lawsuit against Kolmagortseva as a private person. The reason for the lawsuit was in the video posted on May 26 in the blogger's YouTube channel. In the video, the founders and leasers of the popular routes in the Sochi National Park told how they had been deprived of their business and property. The deputy stated that the facts reported in the video were not true; they were discrediting his honour and business reputation. Teplyakov demanded to oblige Kolmagortseva to refute the facts, remove the video and pay him compensation for "moral harm and mental sufferings."

On November 30, the court ordered Kolmagortseva to pay Victor Teplyakov compensation for non-pecuniary damage in the amount of 1000 roubles, as well as to refute the information contained in the video "in the form of a message about the court decision made on this case," and delete the video.

According to Kolmagortseva, she has already removed the video from her channel even before the court decision came into force.