President of Italy's Christian Democratic Party Addresses Italy's Leaders on Khodorkovsky Case
After convincing the International Christian Democrat Party to vote unanimously in favor of a motion asking Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to assure a just and fair trial of former Yukos businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky during its summit held in Warsaw on April 28th-29th, President Pier Ferdinando Casini personally addressed the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Foreign Affairs Minister Franco Frattini on the Khodorkovsky case in an open letter.
In the letter, President Casini states: "I believe, as I anticipated during my intervention in the Parliament on May 14th during the debate on the ratification and implementation of the Agreement between the Italian and Russian governments on cooperation in fighting crime, that it is not possible to postpone any longer the moment that Italy moves in the same direction as other countries, having withheld them until now".
Furthermore, President Casini, stressing the friendship between Mr. Putin and Mr. Berlusconi, says: "A relation that you, Mr. President, are rightly proud about and that I believe puts you into the position to ask the Prime Minister and President Medvedev a tangible and concrete act which can be rapidly verified in its effects to establish the respect of human rights and the right to defence of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Platon Lebedev and all Russian citizens."
Foreign Affairs Minister, Franco Frattini, replied to President Casini's appeal with a public statement: "We expect a fair trial and, if this does not happen, Italy will tell the Russian government that the trial was not fair, be sure of that. I have talked about this case and others, such as the one of Anna Politkovskaja, last year and in every possible occasion. It is clear that Russia is a strategic partner for Italy, but with regards to trials and rights the European Union has to demand transparency."