GOVERNMENT MUST ACT ON RUSSIAN ABUSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS - BRUCE
March 12, 2004 1:11 PM
Speaking in a House of Commons debate today Gordon Liberal Democrat MP Malcolm Bruce will argue the Government should impress upon President Putin that abuse of human rights and abuse of Russian legal processes in the case of former Yukos executives Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Platon Lebedev and Alexei Pichugin is unacceptable and should be stopped.
Commenting, Mr Bruce said:
"Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his associates have been held without bail, they have been subjected to secret hearings, denied access to counsel, and their lawyers have had their offices raided and subjected to illegal inquisitions. Mr Putin is using his KGB training to tighten the hold of the security services on the Russian legal system and direct it to serve Putin's own political ends.
"Regardless of the charges against Khodorkovsky there is no justification for this treatment which is in clear breach of Russian and international law. If it goes unchallenged Russia will slip back into a controlled one party state with pluralist democracy extinguished.
"Even though public opinion may be largely behind the prosecution of Khodorkovsky, allowing this abuse to go unchallenged by democratic governments will be detrimental to the interests of the Russian people in the long-term. It will also undermine confidence among foreign investors is they suspect collaborating with Russian companies could lead to wilful challenge without legal redress and even confiscation of assets.
"I am calling the on the British Government to use their influence to impress upon Mr Putin that his engagement with the international community requires him to uphold his own legal system and international rights."
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