European Court of Human Rights Cases
Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev have brought several cases before the European Court of Human Rights ("ECtHR"), detailing the numerous violations of human rights and due process both men have endured.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky's First Application to the ECtHR
On May 31, 2011, the European Court of Human Rights published its judgment with respect to Mikhail Khodorkovsky's first application, lodged in February 2004, concerning his unlawful arrest and detention both before and during his first trial in the Meshchansky Court.
The Court found that the Russian Federation was responsible for grave violations of Khodorkovsky's fundamental rights. The ECtHR said that Khodorkovsky had been subjected to:
- degrading prison conditions (contrary to Article 3)
- inhuman and degrading conditions in the courtroom throughout his first trial (contrary to Article 3)
- a fundamentally unlawful arrest at gunpoint (contrary to Article 5)
- detention not justified by compelling reasons outweighing the presumption of liberty (contrary to Article 5)
- unfair hearings in domestic courts reviewing his detention (contrary to Article 5).
In a statement, Khodorkovsky's lawyer Karinna Moskalenko said:
"The Court has found numerous violations of Mikhail Borisovich's fundamental rights during his arrest and detention. This shows that the treatment that he received from the very start was unlawful and that from then on he has been subjected to degrading and humiliating treatment. This is an important step in finally securing the vindication of his rights."
The ECtHR has issued a judgment only on the first of Mikhail Khodorkovsky's applications. The second application, which concerns violations during the first trial and the 2005 decision to send him to eastern Siberia to serve his sentence, has already passed the communication stage, and an Admissibility Decision is expected in 2011.
Platon Lebedev's First Application to the ECtHR
In October of 2007, the ECtHR found that Lebedev's prosecution violated international human rights law and awarded him damages. The ECtHR found that Lebedev had been detained illegally and denied access to counsel, that hearings were conducted without his attorneys present, that proceedings were unlawfully delayed, and that the appeal process was obstructed.
Further Applications to the ECtHR
Several subsequent applications have been lodged by both Khodorkovsky and Lebedev at the ECtHR, concerning both their 2004-2005 proceedings and their 2009-2011 proceedings. These applications continue to work their way through the ECtHR's docket, which is overburdened with thousands upon thousands of cases from claimants seeking redress for the violation of their human rights in Russia.