Chechen writer criticizes court’s refusal to recognize him as a co-author of “Avatar”

In Moscow, a court has again dismissed a claim of Chechen writer Ruslan Zakriev, who requested to recognize him as a co-author of the film “Avatar”. The writer considered the court’s decision to be ordered, and his lawyer intends to file an appeal.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on June 14, it became known that Chechen science fiction writer Ruslan Zakriev again filed a lawsuit to the Moscow court against the Russian office of 20th Century Fox International with a request to recognize himself as a co-author of the film “Avatar”.

According to the case file posted on the Moscow City Court’s website, on September 14, Judge Bugynin refused to grant the Ruslan Zakriev’s claim.

“We will seek to cancel the court’s decision. We will continue to fight,” said lawyer Dmitry Kazatsker.

The defendants did not attend the court hearing, and their position remains unknown to the plaintiff. According to the lawyer, the negotiations with James Cameron’s assistant Thomas Clancy are underway. “In July, we were close to some kind of compromise on the case. But so far the other side keeps silence,” the lawyer noted.

Ruslan Zakriev himself described the court’s decision as “a mockery of justice.” “The same judge makes the second [...] clearly ordered decision,” said Ruslan Zakriev.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 15, 2021 at 10:55 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.