As the second political trial of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev continued through August, the prosecution continued violating both defendants' rights to a fair trial, and misrepresenting facts and law to secure a pre-ordained verdict [see courtroom updates]. For example, after the Prosecutor Valery Lakhtin read a protocol regarding the seizure of 'evidence' at Bank Trust, the defence pointed out that if the prosecution was to be taken literally based on the dates they read, then the seizure occurred in November 2004 - but examination of the 'evidence' unfeasibly took place in August 2004, four months before. This type of misrepresentation of the facts by the prosecution has been systemic throughout the trial.
The judge continued systematically to deny all motions put forward by the defence, further casting doubt upon whether Khodorkovsky and Lebedev can continue to hope for a fair outcome to the trial. The most disturbing example occurred on August 14th, when the judge granted a prosecution motion to extend Khodorkovsky's and Lebedev's custody in the SIZO pre-trial detention center until November 17th. Both defendants will remain incarcerated under harsh conditions, having contact only with guards, attorneys and, through strictly limited visits, family members [see interview with lead defence lawyer Vadim Klyuvgant].
Khodorkovsky himself said the prison "remains like a Gulag". In an interview with Sole24Ore, he said: "In here, the human being is not respected: they only try to destroy human beings, to make them robot, androids". There are no legal grounds for Khodorkovsky's and Lebedev's confinement under these conditions, and this is in fact a violation of the defendants' fair trial rights and of the prosecutorial duty of fairness and objectivity.
The ongoing disregard for the rule of law illustrated by the 'Yukos affair' has increasingly made Russia more isolated from the international community, and continues to undermine Russia's fragile civil society. By using state energy monopolies as tools of an aggressive foreign policy, and ignoring Russia's obligations under international law, the Kremlin not only deepens its isolation but also makes the country more vulnerable to the economic crisis. In an article for the Moscow Times, former State Duma deputy Vladimir Rhyzhkov commented that Russia's foreign policy failures are snowballing at such a rate that they threaten a second geopolitical collapse on par with the disintegration of the Soviet Union 20 years ago.
In a letter to the Financial Times this month, lead counsel for the majority shareholders of Yukos, Emmanuel Gaillard, said that Russia's plan to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty is a "signal to the international community that Russia refuses to live by its international commitments and is not interested in protecting future energy investments". He stressed that Russia's withdrawal will have no impact on shareholder efforts to seek compensation from the Russian government due to its unlawful dismantling of Yukos.
In an effort to defuse social tensions, the Moscow Times reported in August that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told members of United Russia that the Kremlin was ready to ease its grip on the regions. According to the article, President Medvedev said that the country 'needs a more flexible political system' in reaction to growing demands from the Russian people for more freedom and democracy, against the backdrop of the economic crisis.
However, Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev recently stated that there is "little evidence supporting Medvedev's claim of being more liberal and a reformer". In an interview with German publication Die Zeit, Lebedev cited the new anti-corruption laws and the second trial of Khodorkovsky as examples.
It is clear that few will believe Russia is truly changing unless entrenchment of the rule of law is made a top Kremlin priority, in an effort to establish trust with Russian civil society, the domestic private sector, foreign investors and governments abroad. The release of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev would be the most credible bellwether of such a shift in Russia.
Victor Iliukhin, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Constitutional Legislation and Governmental Organisation, supported Khodorkovsky's vision for robust rule of law in Russia, calling the current trial "...a shame for the Russian legal system". He said: "They do not judge or punish him [Khodorkovsky], they simply take out revenge on behalf of the government".
Although there have been indications that President Medvedev is moving in the right direction, it is unclear to what extent his initiatives are part of a concerted effort to bring Russia out of isolation, or whether they are merely superficial overtures in order to preserve the status quo. Ensuring there is no manipulation of Khodorkovsky's trial verdict - which on the facts and under the law should result in Khodorkovsky's acquittal and freedom - would be a significant step forward. Until then, Khodorkovsky summed up the current feeling around the world in an interview with Newsweek: "Medvedev is certainly different from Putin, but at the same time I have no doubt that the current president is completely loyal to the previous one. Will he be able to pursue his own policy, will he deem that to be necessary for himself? These are questions that I don't have the answer to yet."
