Mizulina's Lawsuit Against Lebedev: Linguistic and Phonographic Examination Ordered

Background

Yelena Mizulina, a conservative Russian politician, has filed a lawsuit against Alexei Lebedev, a liberal media mogul, over his comments about her. Lebedev made the comments in an interview with the Echo of Moscow radio station in March 2022.

In the interview, Lebedev accused Mizulina of being a "liar" and a "homophobe." He also said that she was "obsessed" with gay people and that she was trying to "destroy" them.

Mizulina's Lawsuit

Mizulina filed a lawsuit against Lebedev in April 2022. She accused him of defamation and demanded that he retract his comments.

Lebedev has denied the allegations and said that he will not retract his comments.

Linguistic and Phonographic Examination

As part of the lawsuit, the court has ordered a linguistic and phonographic examination of Lebedev's comments.

The examination will be conducted by experts from the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The experts will examine Lebedev's comments to determine if they are defamatory.

Possible Outcomes

If the experts conclude that Lebedev's comments are defamatory, the court could order him to pay damages to Mizulina.

The court could also order Lebedev to retract his comments.

Significance

The outcome of the lawsuit could have implications for freedom of speech in Russia.

If Mizulina is successful in her lawsuit, it could make it more difficult for people to criticize public figures in Russia.