{"id":3816,"date":"2021-07-29T21:24:30","date_gmt":"2021-07-29T21:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mediateka.online\/learnrussian\/british-judge-to-rule-in-october-on-libel-case-over-putins-people-book.html"},"modified":"2021-07-29T21:24:30","modified_gmt":"2021-07-29T21:24:30","slug":"british-judge-to-rule-in-october-on-libel-case-over-putins-people-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediateka.online\/learnrussian\/british-judge-to-rule-in-october-on-libel-case-over-putins-people-book.html","title":{"rendered":"British Judge To Rule In October On Libel Case Over ‘Putin’s People’ Book"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A British judge says she plans to rule later this year on a libel case brought over claims in a book about the ascent of Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n

Judge Amanda Tipples told the High Court in London on July 29 that her judgment would come in October.<\/p>\n

The case against journalist Catherine Belton and the publishers of her book Putin\u2019s People: How The KGB Took Back Russia And Then Took On The West was brought by several wealthy Russians, including Russian-born billionaire Roman Abramovich.<\/p>\n

Abramovich, a dual Russian-Israeli national who owns the Chelsea soccer club, is challenging a claim in the book that he purchased the club in 2003 at Putin’s direction.<\/p>\n

Abramovich’s lawyer, Hugh Tomlinson, told Britain’s High Court on July 28 that the book contains "lazy inaccuracies" about his links to the Kremlin.<\/p>\n

The defendants deny the claims, arguing that the book is balanced, well-sourced, and based on years of investigative reporting and interviews. The book, published in April 2020, became a Sunday Times best seller and won accolades from numerous newspapers.<\/p>\n

Belton, a former Financial Times correspondent, declined to comment after the hearing on July 28, the AFP news agency reported.<\/p>\n

The Russian state-owned energy giant Rosneft, led by Putin’s close ally Igor Sechin, is also suing Belton and the United Kingdom’s arm of HarperCollins.<\/p>\n

Rosneft’s lawyers said the book’s allegations would prompt a reader to think its business dealings were "illegal, improper, or inefficient."<\/p>\n

Two other Russian billionaires named in the book, Pyotr Aven and Mikhail Fridman, settled with HarperCollins after the publisher agreed to make changes in subsequent editions.<\/p>\n

That settlement also included an apology for not requesting comment on statements in the book which suggested the two Russians had connections with the KGB early in their careers.<\/p>\n

With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and AP <\/p>\n