MOSCOW, December 4 (RAPSI) – The Moscow City Court on Thursday upheld the ruling ordering opposition activist Alexei Navalny to pay over 600,000 rubles ($11,000) in compensation to the city's Deputy Mayor Maxim Liksutov who claimed to be defamed, RAPSI reports from the courtroom.

The court thus rejected an appeal filed by Navalny attorney. The defense asked to overturn the ruling.

The hearing was held behind closed doors.  Neither Navalny nor Liksutov appeared in court.

Navalny wrote in his blog that Liksutov and his wife owned assets abroad and concealed the fact. The city's administration claimed that to be false and said that Liksutov complied fully with the federal law which prohibits government officials to own assets, including real estate, abroad.

Liksutov was said to own shares of Intellectico Holding Limited, a Cyprus-based company. He vowed to have signed the documents to sell his stake in the company in December 2012.

Liksutov filed a libel suit against Navalny seeking 1.5 million rubles (about $27,600) in damages. In August, the Lyublinsky District Court  in Moscow granted his lawsuit in part.

Navalny is a prominent Russian opposition activist and politician. He participated in Moscow mayoral elections in 2013. He runs one of the most popular sociopolitical blogs, which was put on the blacklist as it encouraged people to participate in unauthorized public events.

Navalny is currently involved in several criminal cases. He is under house arrest as a result of the Yves Roches Vostok embezzlement case. He denies all allegations and claims the case is politically motivated.