The court refused to recognize the truth of Venediktov’s words about Prigozhin

The Presnensky Court of Moscow refused to review the decision on the lawsuit of businessman Evgeny Prigozhin against the former editor-in-chief of the Echo of Moscow radio station Alexey Venediktov. In his lawsuit, Prigozhin demanded that the words of Venediktov, who called him the owner of “Wagner PMC”, be recognized as unreliable. The court made such a decision despite the fact that later Prigozhin himself admitted that he was the founder of this armed organization whose fighters are now fighting in Ukraine.

Prigozhin sued Venediktov and the editor-in-chief of the Echo of Moscow website in the summer of 2021 after Venediktov called him the “master” of PMC Wagner on air. In August 2022, the court found Venediktov’s statement unreliable, but did not oblige “Echo” to refute it.

However, a month later, in September 2022, Yevgeny Prigozhin publicly admitted that he had founded PMC Wagner in 2014 and was managing it. After that, he repeatedly spoke publicly as the founder and sponsor of the organization, and also declared that he “gives Venediktov victory in court.” Alexey Venediktov filed an appeal against the court’s August decision.

In a telegram, Venediktov commented on today’s court decision: “The court did not believe Prigozhin that he is the founder and financier of the Wagner group. The court refused to accept Prigozhin’s “gift” to Venediktov. What is going on!”

Yevgeny Prigozhin, through his press service, also responded to the Kommersant journalists’ request to comment on the court’s refusal: “I think that the refusal is connected with the incredible consolidation of society, which rejects the liberal anti-Russian threat. Although, of course, it is a pity for Venediktov. Everyone ran away, but he is alone it blows for them.”

• “PMC Wagner” is an unofficial Russian military unit that does not belong to the Ministry of Defense of Russia or other state structures. The Ministry of Defense – after Prigozhin’s direct appeal – mentioned him once in their reports, reporting on the capture of Soledar in the Donetsk region. As a rule, PMC reports appear as detachments of some volunteers.
• Fighters of PMC Wagner participate in ground operations in Syria, Africa and in the war with Ukraine. Mercenaries are suspected of committing numerous war crimes.
• From the spring of 2022, information began to appear in the mass media that Wagner’s PMC was recruiting prisoners in Russian colonies to participate in the war with Ukraine in exchange for a pardon. It is still unknown how this is legally formalized. The Kremlin said that this information is classified.
• The Echo of Moscow radio station, which had been operating since 1990, was taken off the air soon after the start of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine on March 1, 2022. On March 3, the board of directors decided to liquidate it.