A Moscow court on Tuesday threw out a defamation lawsuit filed by Vedomosti against Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov for accusing the newspaper of siding with terrorists responsible for Moscow metro bombings that killed 40 people March 29.
Moscow's Presnensky District Court did not announce the reasons for this decision Tuesday but will do so within days, Interfax reported.
Vedomosti lawyer Vladimir Rumyantsev told the Moscow Times that the court's decision was ungrounded and that the newspaper was considering whether to file an appeal.
Gryzlov said on April 2 that a Vedomosti analysis piece, titled "Revenge for the Caucasus," and a Moskovsky Komsomolets article by Alexander Minkin displayed a pro-terrorist stance. Both articles said the bombings were a strategic move by North Caucasus rebels, who had promised earlier to bring war to the Russian heartland.
"The phrases in question cannot be regarded as a statement. It is a judgmental opinion," Gryzlov's lawyer Yelena Zabralova said Tuesday.
Last week, the same court rejected a defamation lawsuit filed by Minkin.
Tuesday's lawsuit was filed by Vedomosti's publisher Business News Media, whose parent company, Independent Media Sanoma Magazines, also owns The Moscow Times.