A Sochi court has reviewed the ruling on Yuri Napso's lawsuit against blogger Valov.
The Lazarevsky District Court of Sochi dismissed Kuban State Duma deputy Yuri Napso's lawsuit for defamation against Alexander Valov, the founder of the website "Blog Sochi," because Napso failed to appear at the hearing.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot," on December 26, 2018, the court found Alexander Valov guilty of extorting money from Kuban State Duma deputy Yuri Napso and sentenced him to six years in prison and a fine of 700,000 rubles. In August 2019, the Krasnodar Regional Court refused to reconsider the verdict. On May 12 of this year, it was announced that the court refused to review the constitutionality of the provision of the law under which Yuri Napso was prematurely removed from office for absenteeism.
After nine years, a Sochi court has reopened proceedings in a defamation lawsuit filed by former State Duma deputy Yuri Napso against Alexander Valov, editor-in-chief of the website BlogSochi. The defendants are insisting on overturning the 2017 decision, which was in Napso's favor. Newly discovered circumstances served as the basis for the review. The defense presented evidence that the former deputy violated anti-corruption laws, Yuga.ru reported on May 22.
Today, the Lazarevsky District Court of Sochi dismissed former State Duma deputy Yuri Napso's lawsuit for defamation against Alexander Valov, founder of the website "Blog Sochi," .. The reason was that the plaintiff had failed to appear for court hearings twice since May 2026, said Alexander Valov, whose words were quoted today by Kommersant.
The court found that Yuri Napso's claims regarding the disseminated information could be considered unfounded.
No comments were received from Yuri Napso or his representatives regarding the court's decision.
As a reminder, after his release from prison, Alexander Valov was unable to obtain the return of the money seized during the search, which, according to him, was supposed to go toward paying the fine and compensating for moral damages to deputy Yuri Napso.
Valov told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that in September 2023, he contacted the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation with a request to determine the whereabouts of the $10,000 and $10,000 seized from him during a search in January 2018. Euro.
The "Caucasian Knot" also reported that on April 3, 2025, the State Duma adopted a resolution on the early termination of the powers of Deputy Yuri Napso. In late September 2025, the Investigative Committee placed the deputy on the federal wanted list in connection with a rape case. Napso denied the charges. On February 6, investigators discontinued the rape case.
Earlier, in October 2024, it was reported that the Sochi Central District Court, having upheld the claim of the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, converted enterprises, land plots, and real estate owned and managed by Yuri Napso and 14 affiliated entities in favor of the state.
Yuri Napso was born in Tuapse and holds a PhD in economics. In the 2000s, he worked in commercial structures. He became a State Duma deputy in 2007 and was elected to the 5th, 6th, and 7th convocations. In 2021, he was elected to the 8th State Duma as part of the LDPR federal list. The regions assigned to him were Krasnodar Krai and Rostov Oblast.
The "Caucasian Knot" publishes news about the persecution of activists in the regions of southern Russia and the South Caucasus on the thematic page "Persecution of Activists".
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