Russian Human Rights Breach Unacceptable

11.34.37am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 23rd Jul 2004

Malcolm Bruce, Liberal Democrat MP for Gordon and member of the UK delegation to the Council of Europe, has written to the Foreign Secretary to highlight accusations of human rights abuses surrounding the trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Mr Bruce said:

"Very serious allegations of breaches of human rights have been made.

"Mr Khodorkovsky and his fellow Yukos defendants have been held without bail. The offices of their lawyers have been raided by the security services and documents have been confiscated. And they have been given little time to prepare a defence and denied access to relevant documents. The health of all three is reportedly in steady decline.

"These actions flout the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights of which Russia is a signatory. As a guarantor of this Convention, the UK cannot turn a blind eye.

"Everything points to the main institutions of the Russian state being diverted to serve the political ends of the Putin Government. This raises questions about the fairness and objectivity of the judicial system. The outcome of the Khodorkovsky trial must be seen in this context."