Yuri Schmidt
Yuri Schmidt was born on May 10, 1937 in what is now St. Petersburg. In 1960, he graduated from the Law Department at the University of Leningrad and was accepted into the Leningrad City Bar Association. In 1991, Schmidt formed the Russian Committee of Lawyers in Defense of Human Rights.
Among the multitude of cases he has tried, Schmidt successfully defended two journalists from the Perm region who had been accused by the FSB (federal security service) of divulging state secrets in an article in 2003. In 2004, he represented the family of Sergei Yushenkov, a Member of the Russian Parliament, during the process of investigating his murder.
In 1993, Helsinki Watch selected Schmidt to be one of the international monitors honored by Human Rights Watch at its observance of Human Rights Day. In 1997, he was named "Lawyer of the Year" and received "Femida" - Russia's highest honor in jurisprudence. In 1999, Schmidt was honored by the International League of Human Rights for his work in that field.