JBI Human Rights

JBI and Rights Groups Urge Russia to Drop Charges against Khodorkovsky Following Unfair Trial

In a letter released today, five human rights groups including the Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights have urged Russian President Dmitri Medvedev to call on prosecutors to drop the criminal charges against Russian businessmen Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon  Lebedev and to release them from detention.  Their trial, which is likely to conclude in the coming days in Moscow, has been marred by conduct on the part of the prosecutors and the presiding judge that adds credence to widespread claims that the proceedings against them are being undertaken for political purposes. 

In addition to the Jacob Blaustein Institute, the other the signatories to the letter are Freedom House, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, and the International League for Human Rights.

In their letter, the human rights organizations raised a number of examples of conduct by the prosecutors and presiding judge in the case that violate Khodorkovsky and Lebedev’s due process and fair trial rights.  They concluded that the violations had given rise to a widespread perception that Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were being prosecuted for political purposes and had called into question President Medvedev’s administration’s commitment to the rule of law.

“Since the initial arrest of Mr. Khodorkovsky and Mr. Lebedev in 2003, Russian authorities have ignored calls by observers inside and outside Russia to ensure that their trials were conducted in accordance with basic fair trial standards,” said Felice Gaer, director of the Jacob Blaustein Institute. “Russian authorities have engaged in conduct—ranging from issuing a seriously flawed and suspiciously timed indictment, to intimidating defense counsel, to abusing witnesses, to failing to correct serious procedural errors—that has completely undermined the credibility of the proceedings.”

For the past seven years, Khodorkovsky, the former owner of the oil company Yukos, and his business associate Platon Lebedev have faced criminal charges in connection with their business activities from 1999-2004.  Russian authorities arrested both men in 2003, and following a two-year investigation and trial, both men were convicted of charges including evading taxes stemming from the sale of Yukos’ oil and sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment.  As the men approached eligibility for parole in 2007, prosecutors filed new charges against them, alleging they committed theft and embezzlement of Yukos’ oil between 1998 and 2003.  The men face maximum prison sentences of 15 years if convicted on these charges.

Like its predecessor, the second trial against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev has been characterized as politically motivated, including by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel, who called for Khodorkovsky’s release in July 2010 on those grounds. 

“While Mr. Khodorkovsky and Mr. Lebedev are not the only individuals in Russia facing unfair trials and harassment by state authorities, their case is a bellwether example of the willingness of the Russian government to subvert the independence of the judiciary for political ends,” said Gaer.  “President Medvedev should send a signal that Russia is a country that is committed to the rule of law by ending this unfair trial now and calling for Mr. Khodorkovsky and Mr. Lebedev to be released.” 

Download Letter_on_Khodorkovsky

The text of an April 2009 letter by human rights organizations including JBI calling on President Medvedev to uphold the rule of law in the Khodorkovsky-Lebedev trial can be seen here.

The full text of the letter from the five human rights groups follows:

JBI Condemns 'Defamations of Religion' Initiative Contrary to Human Rights

The Jacob Blaustein Institute convened an expert discussion on “Challenges to the UN Human Rights Agenda: Defamation of Religions” on October 6, 2010 featuring Professor Nazila Ghanea of Oxford University and  Jo-Anne Prud’homme, JBI’s former International Human Rights Officer. 

At the event, participants, including two dozen UN representatives to the Third Committee, JBI’s Chair E. Robert Goodkind, and Director Felice Gaer discussed with Ghanea and Prud’homme some of the worrisome initiatives underway in the UN to expand limitations on human rights, particularly universal human rights of freedom of expression and religion.

Professor Ghanea began the program with a presentation on the misuse of human rights law that has wrongly justified excessive limitations to free expression. She criticized the use of a ‘pick and mix’ approach that takes limitations on one right and applies it to another right. An analytic paper presenting norms prepared by her was distributed and can be found here: Download JBI Paper N Ghanea

Ms. Prud’homme discussed the tendency to conflate “defamation of religions” with incitement as set forth in article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and her presentation is available here: Download JBI Paper HR Note Prudhomme

As the JBI seminar made clear, and the talking points demonstrate, “defamation of religions” is not a human rights issue, it is incompatible with the legal concepts of incitement and defamation, and it is susceptible to use in defense of oppressive conduct. JBI also cautions states as to how they approach this issue, pointing out that states that fail to object to the “defamation of religions” initiatives at the UN General Assembly or Human Rights Council would be complicit in active efforts to undermine the effectiveness of the human rights system.

Many questions were raised about the four regional conferences on articles 19 and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights being organized in 2010 by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The first of these is scheduled to take place in Vienna in January 2011.

Participants asked JBI to prepare talking points on the issue of “defamation of religions, which we have listed below and which can be found here: Download JBI Talking Points Defamation of Religion