Embassy : Jailed Russian Oil Tycoon's Lawyer Speaks

Russian Embassy says Robert Amsterdam acting too political, but would nevertheless consider granting him a visa.

By all appearances, the Canadian lawyer for a jailed Russian oil tycoon, whose conviction triggered howls of political oppression, seems unshaken by the late-night visit of six police officers to his Moscow hotel room late last month.

Robert Amsterdam didn't follow law enforcement to the station, as he was reportedly asked to do, but the encounter left him with 24 hours to depart the country. The confrontation happened only hours after his client, former Yukos chief Mikhail Khodorkovsky, had his appeal rejected on charges of fraud and tax evasion but saw his sentenced reduced by one year to eight.

Last week, visiting colleagues at an Ottawa law office, his tie undone and slung around his neck, Mr. Amsterdam says his deportation exhibits all the signs of Russia's crushing democratic deficit.

"I think the Russian government exiling me has done me a tremendous favour in terms of demonstrating a lot of what I have been saying is behind their conduct," he says, calling his ordeal indicative of attacks President Vladimir Putin is waging on the free press, non-governmental organizations and the electoral system.

"All of these reflect instability, insecurity and incompetence that is nearly unparalleled," says Mr. Amsterdam.

Mr. Khodorkovsky is one of the better-known billionaire business people who gobbled up state enterprises and made vast fortunes from the privatization of the Russian oil industry. He later tried his hand at politics, as adversary to the current government, but now from behind bars Mr. Khodorkovsky isn't able to get parliamentary immunity to run for the Duma, the state parliament. His oil company, Yukos, is under state control.

Mr. Amsterdam says his client has become the unfortunate poster boy for a much wider campaign by the Russian government to "destroy civil society" in a country of over 141 million people. The Putin administration has invoked fear to the extent that corporations no longer donate to charities to avoid raising suspicions that could lead to police intervention, he says.

"Russia is more corrupt than any system I've seen," says Mr. Amsterdam, who has sought justice in cases from Nigeria to Guatemala and Venezuela. "The situation, in my view, can only be described as an emergency situation because the government is not only engaged in massive corruption, but in the destruction of institutions... and any attempt to build an independent judiciary."

Two years ago, Mr. Amsterdam, a partner of the small Toronto firm Amsterdam & Peroff, was a surprise choice to represent Mr. Khodorkovsky in a high profile trial.

He built the case with a team of American and Russian lawyers, and in that time Mr. Khodorkovsky earned Mr. Amsterdam's respect and admiration. "We get on well," says Mr. Amsterdam. Meanwhile, Mr. Amsterdam's own relationship with the Kremlin soured as the outspoken lawyer repeatedly accused the government of violating international legal principles.

After prolonged silence on Mr. Amsterdam's frequent complaints of government misconduct, the Russian Embassy in Canada shot back last week.

First Secretary Alexey D. Lisenkov says Mr. Amsterdam's revoked visa has been a topic of conversation among diplomats in Ottawa, but the mission hadn't been in direct contact with Moscow on the details. "Our opinion is that he's not acting like a lawyer, but a political figure," says Mr. Lisenkov. "This is a last resort because he's not able to achieve his goal by his professional skills."

Mr. Lisenkov accuses Mr. Amsterdam of politicizing the incident. "It's not a political case. There are many cases in other countries as well that deal with tax evasion," he says.

Mr. Amsterdam says he's compelled to engage the Yukos case on a political level. "I am doing my job as a lawyer to point out the Russian court's lack independence," he says.

Outside the courtroom, Mr. Amsterdam says his work takes place in the corridors of power of Washington and Europe ­ what he calls an attempt "to fight a political fight, politically."

He explains: "If you solely fight within the legal system, which is corrupted and morally bankrupt... you are fighting their game. If you appeal to the press and put facts before international bodies, then you defeat their game."

For instance, lawyers were given only a week to leaf through piles of documents after last month's appeal was suddenly moved up. Russian lawyers on the defence side are now at threat of disbarment, says Mr. Amsterdam.

The Kremlin doesn't "mind demonstrating to its own people that it can dominate and control the courts, and they do it regularly and with impunity because the West does not demand any more of them," says Mr. Amsterdam.

Mr. Amsterdam continues his advisory role on the legal team by phone and email. The Supreme Court of Russia and European Court of Human Rights are two avenues of appeal that may be pursued, he says.

Without question, says Mr. Amsterdam, he would like to return to Russia some day if authorities grant him a visa.

"I have not violated Russian laws," he says. "I would hope that someone in the legal department, as opposed to the political department of the Russian Federation, might understand that it would do them some good to turn to international law instead of political whim."

The Russian Embassy in Ottawa would consider a meeting with Mr. Amsterdam if one is requested. "If he applies for a visa I believe that we would consider this," says Mr. Lisenkov.
Embassy - Newspaper Online., 10.12.2005