Famous cyclist sues Komsomolskaya Pravda

Today, on January 30, the court of Astana considered the appeal of journalist Mikhail Vasilyev and the LLP «New Media Group Publishing House» against the decision of the Inter-District Civil Court of Astana, issued in response to the lawsuit for protection of honor, dignity, and business reputation of Alexander Vinokurov, the general manager of the Astana Cycling Team (Astana Qazaqstan Team)
The lawsuit was filed against the editorial office in connection with two publications from 2022 – «Opyat dvoika» (from 03.02.2022) and «Kozny Astany» (from 03.16.2023). These articles report that financial activities of the main financial intermediary of the cycling team - the ABACANTO S.A. company, are under investigation in Luxembourg, and Alexander Vinokurov is named as one of the suspects.
Vinokurov demanded that the information labeling him as a suspect be declared untrue and damaging to his honor and dignity. He requested the publication of a refutation and the payment of 2 million tenge each to the publishing house and the journalist as compensation for moral damage.
Vinokurov demanded that the information labeling him as a suspect be declared untrue and damaging to his honor and dignity. He requested the publication of a refutation and the payment of 2 million tenge each to the publishing house and the journalist as compensation for moral damage.
The journalist and the editorial office presented to the court copies of letters from the co-owner of the Astana cycling team – the Canadian company Premier Tech addressed to Alexander Vinokurov and Kazakhstan government agencies regarding violations in the activities of ABACANTO S.A. identified during an audit. A copy of the audit report was also provided, which indicates the absence of justification for the company's payments. The editorial board also provided the response of the investigator of the Judicial Police Service of the Luxembourg Court to the request of «Komsomolskaya Pravda Kazakhstan», which reports (quote from the court decision): «Due to the confidentiality of the investigation, we cannot disclose all the steps we will take, but some of these steps include hearing from individuals who may be involved in the alleged violation, including Mr. Alexander Vinokurov.
On November 23, 2023, the court of first instance declared the disputed segments of the publications to be untrue and damaging to the business reputation, obliging them to refute them. The journalists were also ordered to compensate Alexander Vinokurov for moral damage in the amount of 200,000 tenge.
Today, during the appellate hearing, the journalist and his representative stated that the information provided in the article did not tarnish the honor and dignity of the plaintiff, and therefore it is impossible to publish a refutation. To support their claims, they presented the conclusion of a philological expert. However, the appellate panel upheld the decision of the court of first instance without explanation to the participants of the process. The journalist will have to wait for the written ruling to understand why his arguments were not considered.
The Adil Soz Foundation will monitor the further progress of this case.