MOSCOW, September 28, Andrey Simonenko. German journalist Hajo Seppelt stated that until he receives official notification from the Moscow court about the hearings on the claim of the doctor of the Russian figure skating team at the 2022 Olympic Games, Philipp Shvetsky, he will not comment on this topic, including on the possible arrival to Russia for the trial.
On Thursday, preliminary hearings were held in the Nikulinsky District Court of Moscow on Shvetsky’s claim against Seppelt for the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation. After this, Shvetsky reported that “the court’s observations on the issue of claims and notifications to the defendant personally were corrected using postal notices in Russian and in the defendant’s native language (German), also using email and instant messenger.” The main hearing on Shvetsky’s lawsuit against Seppelt will take place on November 17.
Answering a question about whether he had received official notification from the court and whether he was considering the option of personal attendance at the trial in Moscow, Seppelt stated that he had not received any official information from the Moscow court, and until this happens, further comments will not give any information on this topic.
At the Olympic Games in Beijing, the leader of the national team and group Eteri Tutberidze, Kamila Valieva, as part of the national team, became the winner of the team tournament. Immediately after this, it became known that the skater’s doping test on December 25, 2021 gave a positive result for trimetazidine. The Court of Arbitration for Sport allowed Valieva to participate in the individual tournament of the Games, where she took fourth place. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) postponed the award ceremony for the team tournament winners until the investigation into the Valieva case is completed. In October 2022, Shvetsky announced that he remains the Russian team doctor, but will not work at Tutberidze’s skating rink.
Seppelt is a journalist for the German TV channel ARD, the author of films about the use of doping in sports, including by Russian athletes. At the end of 2014, a series of his films were released, which alleged the existence of a doping system in Russian athletics. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) created a commission led by Richard Pound to investigate the allegations. It led to the temporary suspension of the All-Russian Athletics Federation (ARAF) from full membership in the World Athletics Association (World Athletics, then IAAF) from November 2015 to March 2023 and a ban on Russian athletes competing in international competitions under their flag.