Court Orders Dud and Lebedev to Remove Offensive Mizulina Interview Segments

A Moscow court ruled that journalist Yuri Dud and designer Artemy Lebedev must remove several segments from their interview deemed offensive to State Duma deputy Elena Mizulina. Mizulina had filed a lawsuit claiming the interview contained defamatory statements. The court ordered Mizulina to pay 200,000 rubles and Lebedev 300,000 rubles in fines. Lebedev stated, "The court's decision is absurd, and we will appeal." The court's decision was based on an expert analysis of the interview. However, Lebedev's lawyer argues that the expert's findings were misrepresented. The case highlights ongoing tensions between freedom of speech and defamation laws in Russia. The appeal process is expected to draw further attention to the issue.