Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s conviction – handed down today by a Moscow court – calls the Russian government’s adherence to the rule of law into question, said the Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI).
On the morning of December 27, the Khamovnichesky Court in Moscow found Khodorkovsky, the former owner of the oil company Yukos, and his business associate Platon Lebedev guilty of embezzling and laundering Yukos’ assets between 1999 and 2004. Their lawyers have indicated that they will appeal the verdict. Numerous apparent due process and fair trial violations have marred Khodorkovsky’s and Lebedev’s trial. These violations – as well as the judge’s apparent efforts to ban media from covering the trial session on December 27 – constitute violations of Russia’s obligations under international human rights law. JBI calls on the Russian government to address these violations by releasing Khodorkovsky and Lebedev from detention and on United States and European Union officials to take public action commensurate with the criticisms expressed today by Hillary Clinton and Catherine Ashton regarding the trial process and outcome.
Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were first arrested and imprisoned by Russian authorities in connection with criminal charges arising from their business activities in 2003. They were convicted of tax evasion and other offenses in 2005 and sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment. Prosecutors brought the second set of charges against them in 2007, as they approached eligibility for parole. On October 28, as the trial neared its end, JBI and four human rights groups – Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, Freedom House, and the International League for Human Rights – sent a public letter to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, urging him to call on prosecutors to drop the charges against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev. The letter outlined a number of examples of conduct by the prosecutors and presiding judge that undermined the credibility of the proceedings against them.
Shortly after presiding Judge Viktor N. Danilkin announced the guilty verdict against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev on December 27, individuals in attendance at the trial report that he ordered photographers to leave the courtroom and barred any individuals – including journalists – not already present in the courtroom from reentering once the hearing resumed. The effect of these rulings has been to exclude a significant number of members of the media from covering a significant portion of the lengthy trial session. While trials may be closed consistently with human rights obligations in “exceptional circumstances,” “for reasons of morals, public order, or national security in a democratic society, or to the extent strictly necessary where publicity would prejudice the interests of justice,” there do not appear to be special circumstances surrounding the Khodorkovsky trial – particularly at this late stage – that would seem to justify such a measure. JBI calls on Judge Danilkin to rescind all restrictions on attendance by members of the public – including journalists – at the trial immediately.
Judge Danilkin did not announce the sentences to be imposed on the men during the December 27 court session, and it remains unclear when he will do so. In October, prosecutors requested a 14-year prison sentence for both men, which would include their previous period of detention, and which, if imposed, would lead to their continued imprisonment until 2017. Some observers have speculated that the length of the sentence ultimately imposed on the men will offer a signal as to whether the Russian government has adopted a more lenient position towards elites who criticize it. However, public comments made by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on national television about the case on December 16 – in which he said that Khodorkovsky’s guilt had been proven in court, implied that Khodorkovsky had ordered the murder of several people while managing Yukos, and said of him, “the thief should sit in prison” – do not inspire hope that the government is planning to signal greater tolerance for dissent.
Within hours of the announcement of the verdict, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that Khodorkovsky’s conviction “raises serious questions about selective prosecution – and about the rule of law being overshadowed by political considerations,” that the case had “a negative impact on Russia’s reputation for fulfilling its international human rights obligations…” and that the United States would monitor the appeals process in the case. Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said she "expects" Russia to respect international rights and rule of law commitments when sentencing Khodorkovsky and said that the EU would follow trial developments, including the announcement of the sentence, “closely.”
To read the letter to Russian President Medvedev from JBI and four other human rights groups, see: Letter to Medvedev on Khodorkovsky Trial
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