A Moscow court on Wednesday found the opposition New Times magazine guilty of defaming a United Russia deputy by writing that he “supervised” an ultranationalist youth group and awarded him a token 1 ruble (3 cents) in damages.
Analysts warned that the verdict spelled a setback for free media that would encourage self-censorship.
The author of the disputed article, Yevgeny Levkovich, and other people blamed poor semantics for the ruling, noting that the word used in the article, kurirovat, or "supervised," could be interpreted to mean "in control of" or "to provide support for."
The Presnensky District Court sided with the interpretation that the article accused Maxim Mishenko, the State Duma deputy who sued the New Times, of being in control of the ultranationalist Russky Obraz.
There is little dispute that Mishenko has provided support for Russky Obraz, perhaps best known for organizing rowdy anti-migrant marches on the Nov. 4 holiday known as National Unity Day. Last year, an Internet site co-founded by Russky Obraz quoted Mishenko as saying: “I have a good feeling about Russky Obraz. I have cooperated with them on many projects and am continuing with my cooperation."
“Mishenko had ties to Russky Obraz, and I think the verdict is the result of using wrong definitions,” said Galina Kozhevnikova, a researcher with the Sova center, which monitors ultranationalist groups.
Mishenko was unavailable for comment Wednesday, but his spokeswoman Natalya Maslova said the deputy had cut ties with Russky Obraz at the end of last year “after they started barking Nazi slogans."
The New Times article, "Nazi on the March," published Nov. 9, quoted an unidentified Kremlin official as saying that Mishenko had a supervisory role in Russky Obraz and that the group was supported by the Kremlin. Mishenko denied the claim in the same article.
Mishenko filed the defamation suit against Levkovich and New Times editor-in-chief Yevgenia Albats, who were ordered Wednesday to pay 1 ruble in damages. Mishenko's lawyers also want New Times to publish a retraction in an upcoming issue, but New Times lawyer Viktor Zinoviev said the magazine was waiting for a full copy of the court's verdict before making a decision on a retraction or filing an appeal.
Levkovich said he stood by his article and Mishenko should explain why he had links to Russky Obraz in the first place. “It is strange that a person who represents the ruling political party has ties to such an organization,” Levkovich told The Moscow Times.
Russky Obraz representatives could not be reached for comment. The group, according to Sova, has close ties to Russky Verdict, an organization known for its defense of two young nationalists, Yevgenia Khasis and Nikita Tikhonov, accused in the killing of the human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov in January 2009.
The pro-Kremlin youth group Young Guard praised the court ruling, saying in a statement: “The false fact that Maxim Mishenko, the deputy, supervised an extremist organization can be considered nonethical political behavior. That means this information was damaging to his reputation."
This is not the first time that New Times has been accused of defamation. Earlier this year, Moscow police sued the magazine for an article in which current and former OMON riot police officers spoke of the force being used for various unlawful activities, including to provide protection to prostitutes.