Newsletter December 2011
Khodorkovsky Warns of Stagnation and Political Crisis in Russia
In an interview conducted through an exchange of correspondence with the Ekho Moskvy radio station, Mikhail Khodorkovsky answered a broad range questions on numerous topics, including the reforms of the 1990s, the situation in contemporary Russia and his views about those responsible for his imprisonment. Of particular note, Khodorkovsky warned of the risks inherent in the ongoing development of an authoritarian state. The radio station quoted Khodorkovsky as saying that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin “has passed the point of no return” and will continue to hold on to power as long as he can, leading to economic stagnation that will trigger a political crisis and a hopefully bloodless revolution.
Khodorkovsky film not welcome in Russia
The Russian distributors of the Khodorkovsky documentary believe that Moscow officials have intervened to stop the premiere of the film on December 2nd. Seven cinemas across Moscow that were due to show the film have now abandoned the screenings. Publicly the cinemas cited ‘financial constraints’, however, according to the distributors, some of the cinemas received a call from the Moscow Cultural Affairs Committee instructing them to cancel their screenings. Only a single cinema on the outskirts of the city is still planning to show the film, which has received critical acclaim following screenings across Europe and North America. This apparent censorship occurred in the context of a tightly controlled Russian political environment in the run-up to the December 4th Duma elections.
Meanwhile, on November 14th the Khodorkovsky documentary had its Paris debut in a packed cinema just off the Champs-Elysées. The film was given rave reviews by the French press. In a front-page feature on the film’s release, Le Monde interviewed director Cyril Tuschi, who spoke about his efforts to bring his work to completion – including how paranoid he became about the potential consequences of the film’s release. This month the documentary was also screened in Germany, both at the Luenen Film Festival and at the Bundestag. In the United States the New York Film Forum began a run of screenings on November 30, followed by a Q&A with Director Cyril Tuschi, Khodorkovsky’s son Pavel and Khodorkovsky’s former business partner, Leonid Nevzlin. To a standing-room only crowd, the discussion focused on what the future holds for Russia given Putin’s expected return to the presidency. The documentary will continue to be screened until December 13.
European Court Rules Khodorkovsky Claims for Unfairness of the First Trial Admissible
On November 24th, lawyers for Mikhail Khodorkovsky welcomed the decision of the European Court of Human Rights to rule admissible their claims concerning numerous violations of the European Convention on Human Rights. The decision concerns Khodorkovsky’s second application to the Court, involving violations during his first trial from 2004 to 2005 and his subsequent banishment to eastern Siberia. Specifically, the Court agreed to hear complaints relating to the partiality of a judge, breaches of the presumption of innocence, the right to adequate time and facilities to prepare a defense, Khodorkovsky’s transfer to a prison in Siberia 6,900 kilometers away from his family and the politically-motivated nature of the proceedings. Alongside, Khodorkovsky’s defense team has also filed a new application with the ECHR regarding the violations of his human rights in connection with his second trial from 2009 to 2010. While the admissibility ruling on the second application does not prejudge the merits of the case, it marks another important step in Khodorkovsky’s legal fight against the actions of the Russian state.
Khodorkovsky earlier this month appealed to the Segezha Town Court contesting reprimands issued against him by the prison authorities for giving a pack of cigarettes to a cellmate and waiting for a foreman in a wrong area. Khodorkovsky asserted that he did not violate prison rules and that the authorities did not substantiate the reprimands. He asked for the reprimands to be declared illegal and to be cancelled. The Court, unsurprisingly, allowed the reprimands to stand. The authorities have now established a pattern of using such reprimands as pretexts to deny Khodorkovsky parole due to alleged improper behavior, should he decide to apply for early release.
UK Prime Minister Raises Khodorkovsky in Annual Speech
On October 15th, UK Prime Minister David Cameron highlighted the Khodorkovsky case as a source of disagreement with Russia. In a speech entitled “Foreign Policy in the National Interest”, Cameron listed the impediments to the UK’s closer ties with Russia – confirming that cases like Khodorkovsky’s, Magnitsky’s and Litvinenko’s were examples where he believed Russia is in the wrong.
