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Court Rejects Lawsuit Against Navalny by Chaika's Ex-Deputy's Wife

A. Astakhova / Vedomosti

A Moscow district court has rejected a slander lawsuit against Alexei Navalny filed by Olga Lopatina, the former wife of one of Prosecutor General Yury Chaika's deputies, the Interfax news agency reported Wednesday.

"By the court's decision, the lawsuit was given back to the applicant because of its imperfections", court spokeswoman Lidmila Morozova said, Interfax reported.

The lawsuit against Navalny, his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) employees and, surprisingly, the company Google, had been filed to the court on Tuesday, Lopatina's lawyer told Interfax at the time.

Lopatina demanded an investigative film made by FBK called "Chaika" to be removed from public access, claiming it was a hoax. She had also asked for 5 million rubles ($70,900) as compensation for moral damages.

The film accuses Prosecutor General Yury Chaika's family members, including his two sons and some colleagues, of being involved in shady business deals and various illegal activities including a murder.

According to the film, Olga Lopatina co-owned a five-star hotel in Greece with Chaika's son Artyom. In addition, her ex-husband, former Chaika deputy Gennady Lopatin, was linked to the Tsapok gang, responsible for a series of murders in the southern Russian town of Kushchevskaya.

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