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Judge Fired After Accepting Putin Impeachment Lawsuit

A Russian judge has been fired after accepting a lawsuit calling for the dismissal of President Vladimir Putin, the Slon news website reported on Friday.

Tatyana Leskina, from the Saratov Regional Court of Arbitration, received the case on April 7, according to a website for Saratov court employees.

The fact that she had been stripped of her position was also announced on the court’s website.

Local resident, Nikolai Suvorov, wrote in a letter to the court that Putin is “an enemy of the state … for his plunder of Russia and impoverishment of the Russian people.”

The petition was dismissed the following day on grounds that such matters were not under the court's jurisdiction.

Numerous Moscow courts have rejected repeated lawsuits filed by opposition leader Alexei Navalny accusing the president of corruption.

Courts of Arbitration can only hear cases regarding economic disputes and other matters related to business, the Interfax news agency reported.

The court's statement also said that they were unable to interfere with the activities of the Russian president, who has immunity under the Russian Constitution, Chapter 4, Article 91.

Impeachment of the Russian president can be carried out by the Federation Council only on the basis of charges of high treason or some other grave crime confirmed by a ruling of the Russian Supreme Court, according to the constitution.

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