Global Leaders

The United States and Europe have taken a significant interest in the Khodorkovsky and Lebedev case. Beginning with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien's personal intervention with Vladimir Putin on Khodorkovsky's behalf shortly after his arrest, world leaders have cited the case as an example of the erosion of democracy and rule of law in Russia.

In November 2009, the European Parliament adopted a resolution ahead of the EU-Russia summit meeting urging the EU's representatives at the summit to pay "the utmost attention" to Khodorkovsky's trial, which they note has already had "severe due process violations".

Pier Ferdinando Casini, President of Italy's UDC Party, promoted a resolution calling on President Medvedev to take all measures to assure the rule of law and respect for Khodorkovsky's rights. The resolution was approved unanimously by the Assembly. On September 23rd, the Italian parliament voted overwhemling in favor of the motion.

In July 2009, the German Bundestag voted in favor of a parliamentary motion noting the need for improving the rule of law in Russia - specifically referencing abuses in Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev's trials. The motion, submitted by the CDU/CSU, SPD, Liberal and Green parties, requests that the Federal German Government initiate and support observation of the trial against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev within the framework of the European Union and to "concretely address deficits in the rule of law in Russia, including the example of the trial against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev".

In June 2009, key members of the U.S. House and Senate introduced two resolutions condemning the politically motivated trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev.
U.S. Reps. James McGovern (D-Mass.), chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, and Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives stating that the government-led trial constitutes a politically-motivated case of selective arrest and prosecution that serves as a test of the rule of law and independence of Russia’s judicial system.

This  resolution came just days after the bipartisan filing of a similar resolution by U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), urging the U.S. Senate to recognize that Khodorkovsky and Lebedev have been denied basic due process rights under international law for political reasons.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe determined in 2005 that Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were "arbitrarily singled out" by the Russian authorities, "violating the principle of equality before the law." Courts from Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Netherlands, Lithuania, and Cyprus, among others, have dismissed elements of the YUKOS Affair in their national courts as having insufficient legal basis.

Meanwhile, many European politicians including German Bundestag member Marieluise Beck and Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Rapporteur Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger have publically spoken out against the continued prosecution of Mr. Khodorkovsky, Mr. Lebedev and other YUKOS employees.

As U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice also repeatedly stated that the case against Khodorkovsky and YUKOS "ha[s] raised serious concerns" about the independence and reputation of the Russian judiciary.

Meanwhile, in 2005, U.S. Senators Barack Obama, John McCain and Representatives Tom Lantos and Roger Wicker signed the Senate Resolution calling on Russia to "dispel widespread concerns that the criminal cases against Mr. Khodorkovsky, Mr. Lebedev, and their associates are politically motivated."

On March 1, 2005, the Committee of Foreign Affairs of the Spanish Congress of Deputies passed a motion supporting the release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky (file number 161/1408), published in the "BOCG. Congreso de los Diputados" Series D, Volume 325 1st February 2006, to call upon Russian authorities to respect Resolutions 1418 (2005) and 1692 (2005) of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe in relation to Khodorkovsky and other YUKOS executives, in reference to infringements of the rule of law; and to request the immediate transfer of Khodorkosvky to a detention center with conditions of incarceration to which he is legally entitled as is any prisoner, and which is in proximity to his immediate family.

See a list of global leaders who recognize Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev as political prisoners

European Parliament

European Council

Letters from Members of the European Parliament

UK Parliament