RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT TREATMENT OF YUKOS AND MESSRS KHODORKOVSKY, LEBEDEV AND PICHUGIN

That this House notes that the European Commission has expressed concern over the dismantling of the private company Yukos by Russian state organs; further notes that the OECD, many politicians internationally and human rights organisations, in particular inside Russia, have raised concerns about massive breaches of the rule of law in the proceedings against Yukos shareholder and former chief executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky, fellow shareholder Platon Lebedev and former head of security Alexei Pichugin; notes that these organisations consider the coordinated action of the state finance and criminal prosecution authorities to be politically motivated, possibly with the objective of eliminating a successful Russian entrepreneur and company; believes that, regardless of the veracity of these charges, the rule of law must be respected in proceedings and action against the company and its former executives; and calls upon the Russian government to preserve open, transparent rule-of-law proceedings and to maintain strict respect of the accused's right to be presumed innocent, which applies both internationally and in Russia.