Krasnokamensk Penal Colony Administration Hinders Work of Defense Lawyers

Albert Mkrtychev, Denis Dyatlev, Elena Levina and Irina Khrunova, four of Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s defense lawyers, last week visited penal colony FGU IK 10 in the town of Krasnokamensk to meet with their client and provide him with legal assistance.

However the colony administration’s attitude towards the lawyers has changed dramatically since their last visit to the colony two weeks ago. The penal colony administration had earlier abided by the law with regard to the procedures for meetings of lawyers and their client. This time, the colony administration imposed procedures that were aimed at infringing upon the rights of the lawyers and the client, as well as impeding the court appeal on specific violations.

After setting up an additional checkpoint over a hundred meters away from the entrance to the colony, the lawyers were not able to record the fact and time of their arrival. They were then kept waiting in the cold because the colony administration had not “noticed” their presence.

The colony administration allowed the lawyers to see their client strictly one at a time despite the fact that there is no law prohibiting visits to the client by the defense attorney team as a whole. This means that from the outset Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s rights were violated since he was unable to have an exchange of views with his attorneys on the case and thus develop a joint position in discussion with them. Furthermore, the lawyers were unable to confirm unlawful behavior by prison officials in any way including witness testimony by fellow prison employees.

Before the meeting with their client, the lawyers faced a preliminary series of questions during which time they were asked to answer question on how long the visit to their client would last (although by law they are allowed to have one four-hour discussion per day). In addition, the visit of one of the attorneys was abruptly ended with no reason given. During their stay in Krasnokamensk (a total of three days), all the lawyers communicated with their client for about five hours altogether.

Before and after meeting with Khodorkovsky, every lawyer, in violation of legal requirements, was subjected to a so-called “personal search” procedure. This was in fact a body search during which some of the lawyers had to hand over their clothes, belts and shoes, while the others had to hand over items of their underwear for this “personal search.” This so-called “personal search” was held without any witnesses being present; in the course of the search, colony representatives in violation of the law refused to give any reasons for it or to record the fact that the search was undertaken or record any findings.

In violation of Article 8 of the law on Advocacy and the bar in the Russian Federation and Article 6 of Code of professional ethics for lawyers, administration officials at the entrance to and exit from the colony’s territory repeatedly tried to examine the defense team’s confidential materials, including lawyers’ records on their client’s case, thereby compromising the lawyers’ professional confidentiality. Moreover, the personal papers and documents of lawyer Albert Mkrtychev were seized when he left the territory of the colony. Colony officials had already examined these documents when he entered the restricted area and nothing caused them to issue any warnings at that point.

The colony administration and staff paid special attention to confidential notes including the lawyers’ private notes made by them during their talk with Mikhail Khodorkovsky. According to the colony’s administration, officials have the right to look through the notes “for the purpose of preventing terrorist attacks”. And following the thorough examination and attempts to decode the transcripts made by Elena Levina, the colony administrator requested that the lawyers give a written promise that they would agree “to speak and write only in Russian”.

The lawyers were also given to understand unambiguously that non-compliance with any of the unlawful demands by the colony administration would result in making it impossible to communicate with their client for “objective” reasons.

The defense lawyers are conscious of the need to continue to provide Mikhail Khodorkovsky with legal assistance. However, in their opinion and in the opinion of their colleagues in Russia and abroad this situation is absolutely unprecedented.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Press Center, 11.22.2005