Moscow's Savyolovsky District Court will on February 3 hold a preliminary hearing in a defamation suit against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin filed by a group of opposition leaders, the court press secretary said on Monday.
The court may rule to suspend, dismiss or allow the case to proceed. Any ruling is subject to appeal, Yevgeny Vorobyov said.
The suit was filed by Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir Ryzhkov and Vladimir Milov
In his annual call-in show on December 16, Putinasserted that the three opposition figures had stolen billions of dollars together with now-exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky in the 1990s. Putin also alleged that if they ever gained power, they would sell out the entire country.
Nemtsov, Milov and Ryzhkov filed a defamation suit on December 23, demanding 1 million rubles ($33,000) in damages and that the Rossiya 1 television run a retraction.
Rossiya 1 and Channel 2 (VGTRK) have been named as co-defendants. RIA Novosti
