Navalny in court for 'damaging reputation' of catering company

(Patria) – Alexei Navalny's bank accounts have been frozen and his Moscow apartment seized as a result of legal proceedings initiated against him and his foundation, while the Russian opposition politician is recovering from poisoning in a Berlin hospital, his spokeswoman announced.  

His assets were seized based on a lawsuit filed by a Moscow catering company with which Navalny and his allies have been in dispute for a long time.

In October 2019, a Russian court ordered Navalny, his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), and ally Lyubov Sobol to pay the catering company Moscow Schoolchild $1.4 million in damages for damaging its reputation through slander and defamation.   

The court also ordered Navalny's group to remove a video in which they questioned the quality of the catering company's food, while Navalny, FBK, and Sobol will be charged nearly one million euros in compensation to the catering company, which is the estimated amount of their loss due to reputational damage.  

The British newspaper The Guardian claims they could not get a comment from the court, while the news agency Reuters unsuccessfully tried to call Moscow Schoolchild via 9 listed phone numbers, only to reach an accountant in the only successful attempt who hung up when she realized she was talking to a journalist.

Navalny's supporters claim that the lawsuit and police raids against Navalny and his foundation are part of a coordinated campaign aimed at suppressing their activities.

Russian authorities deny such claims, The Guardian reports.