MOSCOW, March 30 (RIA Novosti) – A Moscow court rejected Friday a lawsuit by cult leader Grigory Grabovoi, who is seeking $46 million in moral damages from the Komsomolskaya Pravda popular tabloid.
Grabovoi wants compensation for moral damages he suffered as a result of reports published in the paper of his allegedly fraudulent activities, including a promise to resurrect children who died in a hostage-taking tragedy in Beslan in 2004.
His lawyers have said they will appeal the decision with the Moscow City Court.
Grabovoi was charged in April in a case that caused uproar both in Russia and abroad when he claimed he could heal diseases and resurrect the dead, especially the 186 children who died in the Beslan school seizure in southern Russia. A total of 331 people officially died in Russia’s worst terrorist outrage.
Grabovoi’s lawyer, Vyacheslav Makarov, said his client’s dignity and business reputation had been damaged by the newspaper reports, which also took credit for exposing his alleged Beslan fraud.
The lawyer said Grabovoi was ready to consider a deal with the paper. “We have prepared other lawsuits against the newspaper, and we will go to the end,” he said.