Newsletter April 2012
Review offers opportunity for Russian authorities to recognize illegality of Khodorkovsky case
Following the March presidential election, 20,000 demonstrators gathered in central Moscow to protest electoral fraud and to demand Vladimir Putin’s resignation. In May, Putin will return to the Kremlin and “preside over a country whose people have grown increasingly mistrustful of him”.
The day after the presidential vote, outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev extended an olive branch to the opposition, ordering an official review of the cases of 32 political prisoners, including Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev. President-elect Putin backed the move, saying “I think it’s right. If people have some doubts, the president should respect that”. However, Putin also reaffirmed that in his view justice had been done.
Many remain skeptical about the review of these cases, having become accustomed to empty promises of reform from the Russian government. What is more, those tasked with reviewing the cases are the same people who were responsible for the original prosecutions, leading many to question the fairness of the review process – this echoes what happened in Sergei Magnitsky’s case, in which President Medvedev asked those officials involved in the anti-corruption lawyer’s persecution to investigate his death.
Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika has been given until April 1st to complete the reviews; however the Russian Supreme Court has requested Khodorkovsky’s case file in connection with the ongoing appeal, a move that may give cover to the Prosecutor General to delay his review of that case.
Read more Legal experts of President Medvedev’s Council for Human Rights affirmed that under Russian law an admission of guilt is not a prerequisite for a pardon. This is contrary to public declarations by Putin that an admission of guilt is necessary. However, lawyer Yuri Schmidt said he had “no reasons to be optimistic because both of our leaders have drummed it into their heads that for a pardon you need a personal appeal and admission of guilt. This isn’t the case at all and Khodorkovsky has many times said that he will never admit his guilt.” There are “many other means, without losing face, to free Khodorkovsky and Lebedev” including an amnesty, early release or a court-ordered reduced sentence, said Schmidt. The proposed Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, which would impose asset freezes and visa bans on Russian officials involved in human rights abuses, continues to gain ground in the United States and is inspiring similar moves around the world. With the US Congress considering abolishment of the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik Amendment ahead of Russia’s entry into the WTO later this year, Russian opposition leaders have called for the replacement of Jackson-Vanik with the “smarter” sanctions that would be imposed under the Magnitsky Act. Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Garry Kasparov and Boris Nemtsov argued: “Jackson-Vanik is a relic and its time has passed. But allowing it to disappear with nothing in its place, and right on the heels of the fantastically corrupt ‘election’ of March 4, turns it into little more than a gift to Mr. Putin. Our economy, like our people, will never truly flourish until Mr. Putin and his mafia structure are expunged.” Meanwhile, on March 7th, members of the British Parliament held an unprecedented debate in the House of Commons, on possible travel bans and asset freezes for Russian officials involved in human rights abuses. A letter from the Russian Ambassador to the Speaker of the House, John Bercow, attempted to prevent the debate from going ahead. The UK Government has since stated that it is carefully considering the implications of sanctions and the views expressed during the debate. Similar moves are also being considered in Canada, the Netherlands, France and Germany and the European Parliament has passed resolutions calling for EU-wide visa bans. The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, published a statement expressing concern that “government leaders distort justice when they interfere in individual cases”, citing Khodorkovsky’s case and the systemic issues it raises. Hammarberg stated that there are serious questions about the length of Khodorkovsky’s sentence, the fairness of his legal proceedings and whether guilt was even proven. According to Hammarberg, undue political influence and lack of independence of judges tend to be particularly acute problems in Central and Eastern Europe, and “political leaders must accept that the court room is not a political arena.” Read the full April 2012 Newsletter here. On March 8th, the Russian Visionaries exhibition, which features portraits of Russian opposition leaders by well-known Moscow photographer Kirill Nikitenko, opened in Paris. Speaking at the opening, François Zimeray, France’s Ambassador for Human Rights, said: “I have been very impressed by the courage, the will, the strength, and in a way, the optimism, the half-smile of Khodorkovsky … I don’t know how long it will take, how many days, months or more, but I can tell you that as long as Khodorkovsky is not released, France will be on your side, ready to help.” Zimeray called Khodorkovsky “the incarnation of the human rights movement” in Russia. The exhibition, which has already been to New York and Moscow, will soon be travelling to London.
Proposed US law: Asset freezes and visa bans for corrupt Russian officials
Support from around the world
Russian Visionaries Exhibition in France
