'Russia to file civil lawsuits against those claiming it supported doping'

Russia will file lawsuits in civil courts against those who have claimed that the country's government's has supported doping, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has said.

"We have made legal estimation," the minister said in an interview with the Match TV channel on Saturday, reports Tass.

"We shall present it to international organisations and will selectively file lawsuits to civil courts against the authors, who have accused us of supporting doping," Mutko said.

The Independent Commission of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), chaired by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren, released a July 18 report on the results of a probe into the accusations of doping and manipulation of tests by Russian athletes and officials at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.

According to its details, the commission claimed it had found evidence that Russia's Ministry of Sports and the Center for the Training of Russian National Teams and the Federal Security Service had covered up a doping program in Russian sports.

The report from WADA's commission stated in particular that the commission's investigation registered a total of 643 cases of Disappearing Positive Test Results in Russia between 2012 and 2015 involving athletes from 30 sports.

As a result, WADA suggested that the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and all international sports federations ban Russian athletes from all international sports competitions.

--IANS

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