UK Government Watching Khodorkovsky Case Closely
Caroline Flint, the UK's Minister of State for Europe, responded to a parliamentary question raised by Greg Hands, the Shadow Treasury Minister, on the British government's actions regarding the imprisonment of Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Flint responded that, while the issue has not been raised specifically with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the UK government has made its concerns clear "about the treatment of Khodorkovsky, and others who have been arrested or prosecuted in the Yukos affair, both bilaterally and through the EU."
The Minister added that the UK's concerns stretch across several areas including human rights, due process, the rule of law, access to lawyers and medical care, detention conditions and alleged harassment of defense teams and witnesses. Flint also confirmed that Khodorkovsky's trial was raised bilaterally at the UK-Russia human rights consultations in January 2009.
Flint warned Moscow that the UK's Russian embassy is "watching current developments in Mr. Khodorkovsky's case closely, and is participating in trial monitoring with EU partners and the US," and will continue to monitor the progress of the case.