Moscow court postpones until July consideration of lawsuit filed by Chechen leader's lawyer against "Memorial"

The Tver District Court of Moscow postponed till July 3 the consideration of the lawsuit filed by Andrei Krasnenkov, the lawyer of the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, for the protection of good standing against the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

Let us remind you that yet in late 2010, Andrei Krasnenkov filed a civil claim on his behalf for the protection of good standing against the HRC "Memorial". However, on February 14, 2011, the proceedings on the case were suspended at the request of the very plaintiff: he asserted that part of the information, necessary to justify the claim, would be used during the debate on the criminal case "Kadyrov versus Orlov", and he would not like to voice his arguments prior to that time.

At present, the Tver Court again returns to the claim filed by Andrei Krasnenkov to protect honour and dignity, which, according to him, were assaulted by the staff members of the Human Rights Centre "Memorial".

The claim relates to the article entitled "Ramzan Kadyrov's representative misinforms journalists", posted on the official website of the HRC "Memorial" on September 30, 2010, which mentioned the claim the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who accused the organization of libel. According to the author of the article, when contacting the media, Andrei Krasnenkov deliberately misrepresented some facts about the process to expose himself and his client in the best light.

Andrei Krasnenkov accuses the human rights defenders of libel and demands them to pay 500,000 roubles. He called the statements, published in the article, "slanderous fabrications" and demanded to refute them, the Radio Station "Ekho Moskvy" (Echo of Moscow) reports.

Oleg Orlov, the head of the HRC "Memorial", has stated that at present, because of family reasons, he has no time to comment on new litigation with the Ramzan Kadyrov's representative or to come to court.

Earlier, Oleg Orlov told the journalists that he believed the new claim, filed by Andrei Krasnenkov, was related to the fact that he wanted "to get moral compensation" for his defeat in the criminal case on libel on Ramzan Kadyrov.