The Arbitration Court of Tatarstan ordered eco-activist Dilyara Gaisina to delete comments about the pollution from "Kazanorgsintez."

      Gaysina accused "Kazanorgsintez" of air pollution and posted comments on the official pages of various agencies and their leadership on "VKontakte". The Arbitration Court of Tatarstan granted the lawsuit of PJSC "Kazanorgsintez" against activist Dilyara Gaysina due to comments on social media — she was ordered to delete posts on "VKontakte" that allegedly tarnish the business reputation of the enterprise. This was reported by the publications "Business Online" (referring to the court registry) and "Kommersant Kazan" (referring to the public movement "For Clean Air"). Recall that Gaysina accused "Kazanorgsintez" of air pollution and posted comments on the official pages of various agencies and their leadership on "VKontakte". The recipients included the head of Rosprirodnadzor Svetlana Radionova, the president of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, and the chairman of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin. The activist wrote, in particular, that "Kazanorgsintez" "uses old cheap filters", "accumulates toxic gases in storage and quietly releases them into the atmosphere of Kazan in the evening, at night, in the early morning, when all the inspecting authorities and Kazan residents are asleep." "Kazanorgsintez" demanded through the court to remove the comments as defamatory and to publish refutations, stating, among other things, that Russians do not have the official right to complain to government agencies and agency heads on social media about their problems, since "official pages [of government agencies] on social networks <...> do not provide for the possibility of submitting appeals through comments." In July 2024, the Arbitration Court of Tatarstan denied the chemical giant's claims, and on October 29, 2024, the Eleventh Arbitration Appeal Court in Samara upheld the decision. "Kazanorgsintez" filed a cassation appeal with the Arbitration Court of the Volga District. On March 4 of this year, the court granted the appeal and sent the case regarding the protection of business reputation for reconsideration in the first instance. The cassation court concluded that the legislation "does not provide for the possibility of a citizen appealing to government agencies or officials using social networks." It should also be noted that at one of the court hearings in May 2024, the court included the response from the Kazan Environmental Prosecutor's Office, which reported numerous violations by "Kazanorgsintez" of environmental legislation requirements. In particular, contrary to the technological regulations of the enterprise, "Kazanorgsintez" did not account for emissions of a number of pollutants. A document check showed that the plant understated the mass of waste in the Declaration on Payment for Negative Impact on the Environment. "Failure to comply with environmental legislation creates a danger of harm to the health of citizens," the prosecutor's response stated. Subscribe to our channel on Telegram.