Human Rights Groups call for hold on Khodorkovsky & Lebedev move

The Moscow Helsinki Group, “For Human Rights” and the Prisoners’ Rights Defence Foundation have called on the Director of the Federal Service for the Execution of Sentences [FSIN]  to not move Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, the former co-owners of Yukos out of Moscow until the Preobrazhensky Court has considered their application for parole. They cite an answer from the head of this court stating that the application is to be considered by this court, and stress that according to the law both men must take part in the hearing themselves.

The appeal is signed by Ludmila Alexeeva, Lev Ponomaryov and Valery Bortsev.

Interfax reports Ludmila Alexeeva as saying that Khodorkovsky’s  transfer “has been conducted with human rights violations. Before the transfer, Khodorkovsky should have been granted a personal meeting with his relatives. He did not meet with his wife, and she was told that he had already been dispatched. Apart from the violation of the law, FSIN’s actions are simply inhumane."