Statements of Support (2003-2013) / Omtzigt, Pieter MEP

“A number of cases arise in the Russia report which tend to be very lengthy. The Magnitsky case is very famous; the Khodorkovsky case gets mentioned in every report, and we see that people are critical of the Russian regime. Journalists and others get imprisoned, and sometimes are murdered. That is a serious concern for free speech and a serious concern for free political actions.”

“I hope that one day Russia will exit from the monitoring procedure, because at that point all the member states here are happy that Russia has the same standards as the rest of Europe. It is something that we will be striving for, and that’s something that I hope that I will share together with Mr Khodorkovsky and that we can celebrate it sometime, in freedom, in Europe”

Pieter Omtzigt, Member of Dutch Parliament and MEP, speaking in an interview as part of the Decade of Injustice video series to mark the 10th anniversary of Khodorkovsky’s arrest, August 28, 2013