The Altai Regional Court rejected the appeal of the marketplace iHerb LLC (USA) against the decision of the Central District Court of Barnaul dated August 24, 2021 on recognizing information on the Russian-language version of the iHerb website about the sale of specialized food products prohibited from dissemination in Russia. This was announced to Izvestia by a representative of the company Roman Zaitsev, partner and head of the Moscow practice of Dentons in the field of litigation and arbitration, legal representative of iHerb LLC, on December 22.
“To our deep regret, in the Court of Appeal the situation was repeated, which we faced in the court of first instance. We were not given the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the objections to our complaint by the prosecutor’s office, People’s Control and Roskomnadzor before the meeting, ”Zaitsev said.
According to him, it was only in the courtroom that the company saw “a significant amount of new materials,” which People’s Control asked to add to the case. The petitions to postpone the meeting to get acquainted with these materials were rejected, “the court granted only a short break so that we could study new documents and evidence, some of which, moreover, were only on electronic media,” the lawyer complained. Other petitions from iHerb, including the appointment of a forensic examination, were also rejected, he stressed.
“We intend to wait for the full text of the ruling of the court of appeal and then make a decision on its appeal to the cassation instance,” said the legal representative of iHerb LLC.
He added that “in fact, the court of appeal considered the issue of blocking the Russian-language site of the iHerb marketplace.”
“If you look at the situation more broadly – the issue of the right of citizens to purchase goods in foreign online stores. A broader context – many years of attempts to block the work of the iHerb marketplace in Russia, ”stated Zaitsev.
According to him, since the end of 2018, various Russian regional courts have already considered “about a dozen lawsuits, which included requirements for the complete or partial blocking of the iHerb website or its mobile application.”
“In a significant number of cases, the primary source (trigger) of these claims was the appeal of Alexander Zhestkov [исполнительного директора СРО «Союз производителей биологически активных добавок к пище»] to the deputy of the State Duma, member of the State Duma committee on health protection Alexander Petrov and to the Prosecutor General’s Office about the alleged violation of the law on information, ”the lawyer said.
On August 24, the court declared that the information on the Russian-language version of the iHerb website about the sale of dietary supplements, which included narcotic, psychotropic, potent, poisonous substances, was banned in Russia. Then Zaitsev explained to Izvestia that the court’s decision had not yet entered into legal force, since it had been appealed in the appellate instance. Marketplace filed an appeal against the decision of the Barnaul court on September 27.
iHerb is one of the world’s largest online retailers of dietary supplements and skin care products. Its Russian subdivision became operational in 2019.
The Union of Nutritional Supplements Manufacturers was formed in 2008. It includes over 37 participants.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
