Amnesty International have released its flagship annual report today documenting the state of the world’s human rights.

In the dedicated section on Russia (view here), Amnesty International report that freedom of assembly had been frequently violated, journalists continued to experience pressure, and torture remained widely reported despite superficial police reforms.

Amnesty also note that the Russian Federation’s stated priorities in the area of continuing modernization, combating corruption and reforms of the criminal justice system “showed few tangible results”.

Unfair Trials

Comments on Khodorkovsky’s persecution, Amnesty International said:

“Despite ongoing attempts to improve the efficiency and independence of the judiciary, alleged political interference, corruption and the collusion of judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials continued to result in frequent reports of unfair trials.”

“In May, the Moscow City Court upheld the second convictions of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev. Their repeat convictions on barely distinguishable charges from their previous trials, following deeply flawed judicial proceedings, led Amnesty International to consider them prisoners of conscience. Even allowing for their extended prison sentences, both men qualified for parole towards the end of 2011 and both were denied it.”

Read the full report here.