Prison Service Sues Ren-TV Anchor

By Oksana Yablokova
Staff Writer

The Moscow branch of the Federal Prisons Service is suing Ren-TV anchor Marianna Maksimovskaya and the lawyers of major Yukos shareholders Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev over a report that Khodorkovsky went on a hunger strike while jailed at Matrosskaya Tishina.

Maksimovskaya, Khodorkovsky's lawyer Yury Schmidt and Lebedev's lawyer Yevgeny Baru have been summoned to Moscow's Khamovnichesky District Court for a hearing in the libel case on Monday.

"According to this lawsuit, I am being asked to deny the fact that Khodorkovsky went on a hunger strike -- a fact that was reported by all the newspapers," Maksimovskaya said by telephone Friday.

It was unclear when the lawsuit was filed and why prison officials had waited roughly four months to sue.

"Prison conditions are a hotly debated issue. There are a lot of reports and speculation about them, and not all of them true," said prisons service spokesman Sergei Tsigankov.

He refused further comment, citing the pending outcome of the lawsuit.

Baru called the lawsuit the latest in a series of attempts to discredit Yukos lawyers and Ren-TV, the only channel that "offered an objective report of the incident."

"Honestly, I do not believe that the prisons service is very worried about its reputation," Baru said by telephone.

Baru said he and the other two defendants received the court summons on Thursday.

Khodorkovsky went on a hunger strike on Aug. 19 to protest the transfer of Lebedev to solitary confinement, the two men's lawyers told reporters at the time. Khodorkovsky said that his anti-Kremlin rhetoric while in Matrosskaya Tishina had angered the authorities and that Lebedev was being punished.

Prison officials, however, said the transfer was punishment for Lebedev's refusal to take a daily walk, and denied that Khodorkovsky was on a hunger strike.

The lawyers said Khodorkovsky ended the hunger strike after seven days, when he learned Lebedev had been returned to a regular cell.

Baru said he could not attend Monday's hearing because he would be traveling to the prison near the Arctic Circle where Lebedev is serving an eight-year sentence for fraud and tax evasion. Khodorkovsky is serving eight years on similar charges at a prison near the Chinese border.

Baru said he had arranged the visit with his client weeks before the lawsuit was filed and could not reschedule it.

He stressed, however, that he would fight the suit.

Schmidt could not be reached for comment.

Maksimovskaya -- who worked as an anchor at NTV television before it was effectively taken over by the state in 2001 -- said she was curious to hear what prison officials would say in court. "There were no falsehoods in my words or the words of the lawyers," she said.

The lawsuit against Maksimovskaya was filed less than a month after Ren-TV abruptly canceled a news show hosted by Olga Romanova. The show was pulled off the air hours after Romanova publicly accused Ren-TV management of blocking reports that might irritate Kremlin officials.

The Moscow Times, 12.19.2005

Evans faces resistance over Rosneft post

By Caroline Daniel in Washington

The prospect that Donald Evans, the former US Commerce Secretary, would accept the post of chairman of Rosneft, the Russian state-owned oil company, is being received poorly in Washington amid fears it could spark allegations of cronyism.

White House officials had declined to comment on reports that Mr Evans, a close friend of President George W.Bush, had been offered the job by President Vladimir Putin.

However the Financial Times revealed on Friday that he was “seriously considering” the position and Mr Putin, without naming anybody, confirmed he was “interested in inviting high-class foreign managers,” saying it reflected an “element of openness in Russia’s economy.”

Although Congressional reaction has been muted, several analysts and friends of Mr Evans cautioned that it would face resistance, especially with rising concern about the political direction of Russia, seen in moves to regulate non-governmental organizations.

One friend and former colleague of Mr Evans predicted he would decline the offer - perhaps as early as mid week. He noted that Mr Evans had left Washington for family reasons and would be unlikely to want to travel to Russia. “He would want to show respect for the offer and that he has given this deliberate thought.”

“Eyebrows would go up all over town,” said a former NSC official involved with energy issues. “The fact that he would be cashing in his political connections is not the problem, but doing it in a foreign county and a country like Russia. People would question whether is he just a figurehead and being used. Why take the political risk?”

Mr Evans’s appointment could confer legitimacy on Rosneft, which is controversial because of its role in the break-up of Yukos, the oil company formerly controlled by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former oligarch who is serving a prison sentence in Siberia. Rosneft took over the main production arm of Yukos, in a forced auction last December.

As Commerce Secretary, Mr Evans helped strengthen the US-Russian commercial energy relationship, creating the first joint energy summit in 2002. Since leaving office he has spearheaded critical fundraising for Mr Bush, such as for his presidential library and Gulf Coast reconstruction.

Another friend of Mr Evans who has discussed the offer with him said the approach had come as a surprise. “His political ties to the White House and his oil background in Texas brings immediate gravitas. Don is someone the Russians respect - he told them the likelihood of oil hitting $50.”

He warned that he would advise Mr Evans not to take the job: “The reality is the Russians want something that he should not feel comfortable delivering. You have got to worry about the motive, and whether he would have any real control. It is hard to believe the Russians would give that up. Democrats would say it is another example of cronyism.”

The Financial Times, 12.18.2005

Sign our petition !

Russian NGO "SOVEST" has launched an international petition. The appeal calls for changing the places of imprisonment for Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev from the penal colonies where they are currently serving out their sentences.
To sign the petition, please send a mail to signature@sovest.org with your name, surname, town of residence and profession.


To: Yuri Ivanovich Kalinin
FPS Director
Federal Penitentiary Service

Dear Mr Kalinin :

In its ruling of September 22, 2005, the Moscow City Court upheld the judgment of the conviction of Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky, former head of the YUKOS [oil company], and Platon Leonidovich Lebedev, former head of [international financial institution] MENATEP, whereby they were condemned to 8 years of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony. We believe the judgment of conviction to be unlawful and unwarranted and we shall use whatever legal means are available to us to have this reviewed in a fair and unbiased process.

But it is equally important to us to ensure that the rights of of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev are observed during their detention in these penitentiaries. We believe that that is the task of all of us. Every citizen, including high-ranking officials, should be motivated to see that the penal system as a structure of the state is an element worthy of our Constitution, with principles of law and humanity above all, rather than a place in which tyranny rules and human rights are flouted.

In light of the above, we question the validity of the choice of location for Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev to serve out their sentences.

As you know, Platon Lebedev was taken [moved under guard by special travel arrangements] to an FGU [Federal State Institution] IK-3 [IK: corrective colony, short for corrective labor colony, i.e., labor camp] at the village of Kharp in the Yamalo-Nenets AO [autonomous okrug, i.e., district], situated beyond the Arctic Circle. However, the Russian Federation Justice Ministry No. 346/254 List of Medical Contraindications for the serving of sentences in certain parts of the Russian Federation by offenders sentenced to imprisonment, a list that was enacted under an Order of the Public Health Ministry of the Russian Federation, reads: "The medical contraindications for serving of sentences in: ... the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous okrug are: ...chronic recurrent and progressive conditions of the digestive organs (chronic active hepatitis...)".

We feel it necessary to draw your attention to the fact that Platon Lebedev suffers from serious chronic conditions, including hepatitis, which becomes acute on a regular basis. The diagnosis for Platon Lebedev has been confirmed by medical experts and documented several times.

Furthermore, Article 73 of the RF Correctional Code provides for the convicted offender to serve his or her sentence in the constituent territory of the federation in which he or she has been living or has committed the crime.

However, neither Lebedev nor Khodorkovsky has been sent to serve their sentences in a colony in Moscow or the Moscow Region (Khodorkovsky is currently in colony IK-10 (YaG 14/10) in the town of Krasnokamensk in the Chita region). The reason given is that the Moscow Region has no suitable colony at all, but this does not seem to us to be adequately convincing.

In light of the facts and statutes cited above, as well as in the name of protecting a fundamental human right – the right to life – we appeal to you to take into account the gravity of the medical condition of Platon Lebedev and look into whether it is possible to have him transferred to a penal colony with a more congenial climate, for example, one in Moscow or the Moscow Region.

We also urge you to change the penitentiary facility where Mikhail Khodorkovsky is being held for a colony in Moscow or the Moscow Region.


Sincerely yours,

Sovest independent non-governmental group:

I SIGN TOO!

This appeal was joined by:

Ludmila Alekseeva, Helsinky Group, Moscow
Evgenia Albats, journalist, Moscow
Andrey Babushkin, member of the Council Representative at the Ministry of Justice, Moscow
Nikita Belykh, party SPS ("Union of the Right Forces"), Moscow
Evgeny Bounimovich, party "Yabloko", Moscow
Grigory Djibladze, Centre of the Democracy Development and Human Rights Protection, Moscow
Garri Kasparov, "Committee 2008", OGF ("United Civil Front"), Moscow
Alexey Kondaurov, deputy of State Duma, Moscow
Sergey Mitrokhin, party "Yabloko", Moscow
Alexey Navalny, party "Yabloko", Moscow
Boris Nadezhdin, party SPS ("Union of the Right Forces"), Moscow
Alexander Nikitin, ecologist, St. Petersburg
Elena Panfilova, Transparency International, Moscow
Grigory Pasko, journalist, Russia
Georgy Saratov, Fond INDEM, Moscow
Ivan Starikov, Democratic Party of Russia, Moscow
Irina Khakamada, party "Nash Vybor" ("Our Choice"), Democratic Party of Russia, Moscow
Victor Shenderovich, writer, "Committee 2008", Moscow
Alexey Yablokov, party "Zelenaya Rossia" ("Green Russia"), Moscow
Grigory Yavlinsky, party "Yabloko", Moscow
Igor Yakovenko, General Secretary of the Union of Journalists of Russia, Moscow
Gleb Yakunin, priest, Moscow

The complete list of signature is available here (in Russian)

Jailed Menatep Owner Receives Support Letter From European MPs

The European Parliament has sent jailed businessman Platon Lebedev a letter expressing support to the former director of Menatep Group, convicted for eight years in the Yukos case. The letter published by Lebedev’s press centre Thursday was originally timed to coincide with his 49th birthday on Nov. 29.

In the letter the MPs congratulated Lebedev on his birthday, and said they hoped his next birthday would be spent in a happier environment.

“We are very sorry that in spite of your country’s laws that you have to spend this day far from your family and home… We hope that you can celebrate your next birthday in good contitions, surrounded by family, children and grandchildren.”

The parliamentarians assured Lebedev of their support in the European Council.

“We assure you that we will most attentively continue to follow your case and your movements on the legal field. We will also do our best to attract attention of the European Council.”

“We are anxiously looking at your imprisonment and the recent move to the Vorkuta district. One of our colleagues, Milan Khoracek, observed the trial of you and Mikhail Khodorkovsky in May, and left Moscow certain that the regulations that could have guaranteed a safe and justified verdict had not been followed.”

“We are concerned that you gain access to the possibilities, guaranteed to you by you state’s international obligations, allowing a new fair trial under fair conditions, including a possible appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

”Meanwhile, we hope that you are allowed to see your family in the penal colony, or that you will be moved to a colony nearer your home,“ the letter concluded.

The letter was signed by 31 MPs from Germany, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Belgium, Luxemburg, Great Britain, Austria, Spain, Italy, Danemark, Malta, Sweden and Ireland.

Moscow News, 12.08.2005

Booker Prize Dumps Khodorkovsky

Open Russia NGO said the Russian Booker foundation is no longer workingwith them. Oddly enough, an independent literature prize has given up its sponsor, not vice versa.

Russian Booker was set up in 1992 and was sponsored by 1996 by Booker, British commercial firm. The awards have been called Booker Open Russian since 2002 when the new sponsor appeared.

The decision to freeze contacts with Open Russia was taken before the announcement of the winner of Booker 2005. A statement of the change of the major sponsor was made on Open Russia’s website on the day after the awards ceremony. The reason cited is the situation around Open Russia – the foundation’s chairman Mikhail Khodorkovsky is behind the bars, while the police search at the organization’s offices. Open Russian understands the position of Booker but says it is still willing to finance the awards for a number of years.

The organization committee of the Russian Booker Awards confirmed the news. Igor Shaytanov, secretary of the committee, admitted that the contract was suspended on their initiative and noted that the agreement between the two organizations was signed annually but “none of the parties gave any guarantees for a period more than a year. The official said that the foundation had received a proposal for a long-term cooperation back in October.

Novelist Vasily Aksenov, chairman of the jury of Booker 2005, reacted to the news citing Lermontov: “The love was joyless, the parting will bear no grief.”

Kommersant, 12.07.2005