Written declaration No. 537 | Doc. 13114 | 21 May 2013

Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev and the European Court of Human Rights

Signatories: Mr Luca VOLONTÈ, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Joris BACKER, Netherlands, ALDE ; Mr David BAKRADZE, Georgia, EPP/CD ; Mr Josep Anton BARDINA PAU, Andorra, ALDE ; Mr Levan BERDZENISHVILI, Georgia, ALDE ; Mr Fernand BODEN, Luxembourg, EPP/CD ; Ms Tinatin BOKUCHAVA, Georgia, EPP/CD ; Ms Anne BRASSEUR, Luxembourg, ALDE ; Mr André BUGNON, Switzerland, ALDE ; Ms Svetislava BULAJIĆ, Serbia, ALDE ; Mr Irakli CHIKOVANI, Georgia, ALDE ; Ms Lolita ČIGĀNE, Latvia, EPP/CD ; Mr David DAVIES, United Kingdom, EDG ; Mr Roel DESEYN, Belgium, EPP/CD ; Ms Fouzia EL BAYED, Morocco ; Mr Terence FLANAGAN, Ireland, EPP/CD ; Mr Bernard FOURNIER, France, EPP/CD ; Mr Hans FRANKEN, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Ms Corina FUSU, Republic of Moldova, ALDE ; Sir Roger GALE, United Kingdom, EDG ; Mr Valeriu GHILETCHI, Republic of Moldova, EPP/CD ; Ms Sylvi GRAHAM, Norway, EPP/CD ; Mr Andres HERKEL, Estonia, EPP/CD ; Mr Roman JAKIČ, Slovenia ; Mr Ferenc KALMÁR, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Giorgi KANDELAKI, Georgia, EPP/CD ; Ms Ulrika KARLSSON, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Ms Tinatin KHIDASHELI, Georgia, ALDE ; Ms Magnhild Meltveit KLEPPA, Norway, ALDE ; Mr Edward LEIGH, United Kingdom, EDG ; Ms Inese LĪBIŅA-EGNERE, Latvia, EPP/CD ; Ms Kerstin LUNDGREN, Sweden, ALDE ; Ms Meritxell MATEU PI, Andorra, ALDE ; Mr Robert NEILL, United Kingdom, EDG ; Baroness Emma NICHOLSON, United Kingdom, ALDE ; Ms Mirosława NYKIEL, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Pieter OMTZIGT, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Ms Marietta de POURBAIX-LUNDIN, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Mr Maximilian REIMANN, Switzerland, ALDE ; Ms Marina SCHUSTER, Germany, ALDE ; Mr Ionuţ-Marian STROE, Romania, ALDE ; Ms Tímea SZABÓ, Hungary, NR ; Ms Chiora TAKTAKISHVILI, Georgia, ALDE ; Mr Egidijus VAREIKIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD ; Mr Piotr WACH, Poland, EPP/CD ; Dame Angela WATKINSON, United Kingdom, EDG ; Mr Jordi XUCLÀ, Spain, ALDE

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

Considering that:

- Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, Amnesty International prisoners of conscience, have been imprisoned in Russia since 2003 and convicted in two trials widely criticised as politically motivated and legally flawed;

- their case was the basis of Resolution 1418 (2005);

- Resolution 1685 (2009), on allegations of politically motivated abuses of criminal justice, cited their cases;

- Resolution 1896 (2012) stated that 'the system [in Russia] pressures judges to show loyalty to state bodies or certain officials and to take into account political considerations...the most notorious examples are the cases involving Yukos and Mr Mikhail Khodorkovsky;'

- of the four applications each has lodged to the ECtHR only one has come to judgment, which was favourable to the applicants;

- their applications alleging violations during the first trial, tabled in 2006 and 2005, respectively, remain unresolved despite Mr Lebedev having been granted priority status.

The undersigned, members of the Parliamentary Assembly:

- express their hope and confidence that the ECtHR will deliver judgment without further delay on the cases 11082/06, 13772/05 and all other outstanding applications lodged by Mr Khodorkovsky and Mr Lebedev.