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Lebedev Arrest Illegal Says Russian Supreme Court
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By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
MOSCOW, Russia – The 2003 arrest of a currently incarcerated Russian businessman Platon Lebedev was ruled illegal by the Russian Supreme Court on December 23.
This decision corresponds with a 2007 European Court of Human Rights’ ruling that also determined that Mr. Lebedev’s arrest was illegal. The ECHR ordered Russia to pay 10,000 euros ($14,200) in remuneration.
Mr. Lebedev was the former chief executive of Group Menatep, a holding company that had a majority stake in OAO Yukos, Russia’s largest oil company. He was also the business partner of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a wealthy Russian oligarch who owned OAO Yukos. Mr. Khodorkovsky and Mr. Lebedev were famously prosecuted by then President Vladimir Putin in an effort to consolidate economic power by seizing control of OAO Yukos.
In fact, Mr. Lebedev’s July 2003 arrest symbolized the beginning of Mr. Putin’s campaign against OAO Yukos. Three months later Mr. Khodorkovsky was arrested. The two men were found guilty on trumped up tax and fraud charges and are currently serving eight year sentences.
Other pending charges of embezzlement and money laundering against the men could extend their sentences another 22 years. Mr. Lebedev has said that he will refuse to be present at the commencement of the new trial.
Khodorkovsky (left) and Lebedev (right) during their 2003 trial. Source: Radio Free Europe
The attorneys of the two men reacted to the news with mixed enthusiasm to Wednesday's news. Yevgeny Baru, the lawyer that took Lebedev’s petition to the ECHR, said: “This is nothing more than a reaction to a European court ruling that Russia couldn't ignore. It doesn't change anything. It gives the illusion that justice exists. It’s just a game.”
Mr. Khodorkovsky’s current attorney, Vadim Klyuvgant, on the other hand, praised the ruling as “a good result.” He said that Mr. Khodorovsky has a newfound hope that he will be released because the “Yukos case will be looked at within the framework of the law. Until now, that hasn't been done.”
Ultimately, the decision offers hope to the two men because it indicates that the Russian courts may now be willing to accept future judgments from the ECHR. That court will begin to hear a $100 billion lawsuit by OAO Yukos against the Russian government in January 2010.
For more information, please see:
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
MOSCOW, Russia – The 2003 arrest of a currently incarcerated Russian businessman Platon Lebedev was ruled illegal by the Russian Supreme Court on December 23.
This decision corresponds with a 2007 European Court of Human Rights’ ruling that also determined that Mr. Lebedev’s arrest was illegal. The ECHR ordered Russia to pay 10,000 euros ($14,200) in remuneration.
Mr. Lebedev was the former chief executive of Group Menatep, a holding company that had a majority stake in OAO Yukos, Russia’s largest oil company. He was also the business partner of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a wealthy Russian oligarch who owned OAO Yukos. Mr. Khodorkovsky and Mr. Lebedev were famously prosecuted by then President Vladimir Putin in an effort to consolidate economic power by seizing control of OAO Yukos.
In fact, Mr. Lebedev’s July 2003 arrest symbolized the beginning of Mr. Putin’s campaign against OAO Yukos. Three months later Mr. Khodorkovsky was arrested. The two men were found guilty on trumped up tax and fraud charges and are currently serving eight year sentences.
Other pending charges of embezzlement and money laundering against the men could extend their sentences another 22 years. Mr. Lebedev has said that he will refuse to be present at the commencement of the new trial.
Khodorkovsky (left) and Lebedev (right) during their 2003 trial. Source: Radio Free Europe
The attorneys of the two men reacted to the news with mixed enthusiasm to Wednesday's news. Yevgeny Baru, the lawyer that took Lebedev’s petition to the ECHR, said: “This is nothing more than a reaction to a European court ruling that Russia couldn't ignore. It doesn't change anything. It gives the illusion that justice exists. It’s just a game.”
Mr. Khodorkovsky’s current attorney, Vadim Klyuvgant, on the other hand, praised the ruling as “a good result.” He said that Mr. Khodorovsky has a newfound hope that he will be released because the “Yukos case will be looked at within the framework of the law. Until now, that hasn't been done.”
Ultimately, the decision offers hope to the two men because it indicates that the Russian courts may now be willing to accept future judgments from the ECHR. That court will begin to hear a $100 billion lawsuit by OAO Yukos against the Russian government in January 2010.
For more information, please see:
MOSCOW TIMES – Court Rules Lebedev’s Arrest Illegal – 24 December 2009
BLOOMBERG – Russia Annuls Arrest of Yukos’s Lebedev in 2003, Interfax Says – 23 December 2009
GUARDIAN – Arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky partner illegal, court rules – 23 December 2009
RADIO FREE EUROPE – Russian High Court Declares Khodorkovsky Co-Defendant's Arrest Illegal – 23 December 2009
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