JBI Joins Six Human Rights Groups in Defense of Russian Lawyer

JBI joined 6 other human rights organizations in an appeal to President Barack Obama as well as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on the eve of the G20 summit to address grave concerns about the deterioration of the rule of law and human rights in Russia.

Among concerns were the number of well-publicized murders of journalists and others critical of the government, the tightening of restrictions on independent civil society, the alleged practice of politically motivated prosecutions, and serious flaws within the criminal justice system that undermine due process, the right to a fair trial, and freedom from torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

Emblematic of the unfair criminal justice system was the new trial of the high profile case of two businessmen Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, are each serving eight-year sentences on charges of fraud and tax evasion, said to be politically motivated. The two are now facing new charges and a second trial. Lawyers for Khodorkovsky and Lebedev and several courts outside Russia have made well-founded allegations that their first trial was unfair, marred by procedural irregularities and failure to respect the basic rights of the defense.  Moreover there is a broad consensus that the prosecution of the men in the first instance was politically motivated. A British court has refused a series of extradition requests made by Russian authorities in cases related to the so-called Yukos Affair in which Khodorkovsky was also charged. The European Court of Human Rights as ruled that Russia has violated Lebedev's rights to liberty and security on five counts.

The groups also express deep concern about efforts by some authorities to disbar prominent human rights lawyers Karinna Moskalenko, Yuri Schmidt, and other members of the two businessmen's defense team.  They called on the Russian government to ensure that the defense lawyers representing are protected against any attempts to intimidate or harm them and that any further unwarranted attempts to disbar them are halted immediately.

Last year, JBI hosted Karinna Moskalenko, who lectured about challenges facing the legal profession in Russia and her work with the European Court of Human Rights, and has since met with her on follow-up trips to the U.S. to support her efforts for the independent bar in Russia.

The text of the letter follows.