Kasparov loses "traitor" case against pro-Kremlin youth group

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2008

MOSCOW (AFP) — Former chess champion turned opposition leader Garry Kasparov on Thursday lost a court case in Moscow claiming moral damages against a pro-Kremlin youth group that had called him a thief and a traitor.

Kasparov had sued for 1.28 million dollars (805,000 euros) in damages from Nashi over the leaflet, which was distributed after parliamentary elections in December 2007 that were swept by the pro-Kremlin United Russia party.

But Judge Tatyana Adamova dismissed the case on Thursday at the Savyolovsky court, giving Kasparov's side 10 days to appeal.

Marina Litvinovich, a spokeswoman for Kasparov, said the opposition's demands for "fairness and objectivity" were being ignored.

Since giving up chess, Kasparov has been a strident critic of the...