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Human Rights, Business, and Khodorkovsky's
Fate are Highlighted at Moscow Summit
This week, historic meetings took place in Moscow between U.S. President Barack Obama, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Central to the agenda were the topics of human rights, rule of law, and the respect of property rights, and all eyes were on the world leaders as they responded to important questions about the future of the U.S.-Russia relationship.
A key component of President Obama's dialogue with the Russian people this week was the issue of the ongoing prosecution and new charges against Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev. Leading human rights groups and the international media have unanimously voiced their concerns about the ongoing persecution of Khodorkovsky and other political prisoners in Russia, and called on Russian leaders to commit to judicial reform and the protection of civil liberties. Foreign investment and the economy also suffer when there is no trust that property rights will be upheld. As Mr. Khodorkovsky noted in a Moscow Times editorial, "one of the biggest problems facing Russia today is a lack of trust - among citizens and in our state institutions."
When asked directly about the trial and imprisonment of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, President Obama commented on Khodorkovsky's case in an interview with Novaya Gazeta, calling the new charges against Khodorkovsky "odd." He went on to reinforce the need to strengthen the rule of law in Russia and the right to a fair trial, void of political obstruction. The U.S. President, reiterating the strong words from two recent Congressional resolutions on the Khodorkovsky case called on President Medvedev to follow his own warning that Russia must avoid "legal nihilism."
Mr. Khodorkovsky reiterated this in comments to the Financial Times, saying that Russia was facing a "moment of truth" when it could choose between building a modern innovative economy and civil society or a "fortress of raw materials" and authoritarianism.
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