Russian Authorities Do Not Allow PACE Envoy to Meet Khodorkovsky, Lebedev

Meshchansky court of Moscow denied a representative of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to meet with former head of Yukos oil company, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and head of Menatep group, Platon Lebedev, who are currently in custody.
Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, a member of the Human Rights Committee of the Council of Europe, attended Tuesday hearings on Khodorkovsky’ and Lebedev’s case, Russian Information Agency Novosti reported.
This is the second time when she was denied to meet with jailed Yukos shareholders. On May 25, the court issued the same decision on the grounds that a PACE representative is neither a lawyer, relative, religious figure or consul — the close circle that is allowed access to suspects.
Khodorkovsky’s lawyer, Karina Moskalenko, made a request to permit the defendants to hold a conversation with a PACE representative during a lunch break.
Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger claimed she intends to present a report on this case at the Human Rights Committee in November. It will be considered by PACE in January 2005, she said. The PACE representative did not state whether there are human rights violations in the case of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev. But she expressed surprise that they were put behind the bars in the courtroom, the agency reported.
She said it is possible to hold a person suspected of economic crimes behind the bars in Europe only if he or she poses threat to the others.

From: Moscow News