Human Rights Groups Call on President Medvedev to Uphold Rule of Law in Khodorkovsky Trial
Leaders of eight Western human rights groups released today an open letter to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressing their concern for the deterioration of respect for rule of law and human rights in Russia in connection with the trial now underway in Moscow of Russian business executives Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev.
The Open Letter calls on President Medvedev to insure that the defendants’ due process rights be respected, that international observers be given unfettered access to the courtroom and that Mr. Khodorkovsky and Mr. Lebedev’s legal and human rights, as guaranteed by Russian and international law, be fully guaranteed. “We will continue to monitor the situation as the second Khodorkovsky-Lebedev trial unfolds,” the Letter says.
The letter also notes that Mr. Khodorkovsky’s first trial was tarnished by a generally accepted belief that it was politically motivated to punish Khodorkovsky for his philanthropic and political activities by Mr. Putin and those around him.
Signatories of the letter include Amnesty International, Freedom House, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, the International League for Human Rights, Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights, and the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice.