LUXEMBOURG (Sputnik) — The European Union's General Court ruled on Thursday not to annul Ukraine-related restrictive measures against Dmitry Kiselev, director general of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency.
"Since all the pleas in law relied on by the applicant have been rejected, the action must be dismissed in its entirety," the text of the judgment reads.
The court has issued its decision after striking down six pleas in the action that Kiselev brought against the Council of the European Union.
Kiselev, in response to the verdict, decried the European bureaucracy's a priori dominance over the judiciary "since cases against them are progressing in court at a snail's pace."
"Any Russian citizen who decides to challenge the sanctions against him in court is in fact deprived of the right to defense," he said. "For example, I was not given the opportunity to personally take part in the hearing on my own case."
Kiselev, who is also the anchor of the Vesti Nedeli (Weekly News) TV show, was one of the first Russians to face individual EU sanctions after Crimea’s reunification with Russia three years ago.
The General Court's decision can be appealed to the Court of Justice.
