MOSCOW, June 15 (RIA Novosti) - A court in Russia's capital ordered a top environmental official and a Moscow newspaper Friday to pay the governor of the Moscow Region 110,000 rubles ($4,220) in compensation for moral damages.
Regional Governor Boris Gromov argued in a suit that his reputation had been damaged by Moskovskaya Pravda, which quoted a deputy head of the Russian environmental regulator, Oleg Mitvol, making serious allegations against Gromov, particularly about the misappropriation of budget funds and the illegal acquisition of land.
Gromov's representatives initially asked the court to order Mitvol to publish a retraction of his statement in the Moscow newspaper and pay 50 million rubles ($1.91 million) in damages.
The court ruled that Mitvol pay 10,000 rubles, and the newspaper 100,000 rubles, and to publish a retraction within a five-day period.
Mikhail Mazhirin, a lawyer for Mitvol, said he intended to appeal the decision with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, adding that he was glad the court did not satisfy the initial claim of 50 million rubles in damages.
Mitvol, the deputy head of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Natural Resources, is known for his high-profile environmental investigations into energy projects and brutal attacks on the illegal construction of buildings in protected environmental zones.
He has also overseen inspections and the inventory of villas in the Moscow Region, which revealed numerous violations involving the illegal seizure of state-owned land to build elite cottages on.
Mitvol said he will appeal the ruling. "I will appeal this ruling in the Moscow City Court. Taking into consideration the plaintiff was representing three heads: as Gromov himself, as governor and as Moscow Region government, I can get to the European Court [of Human Rights]. It's going to be interesting," he said.
"With the judge under such pressure, he could only have made this decision - awarding 110,000 rubles," Mitvol said.
