• Mikhail Khodorkovsky
  • Platon Lebedev

We declare that the most flagrant violations of fundamental constitutional rights and lawful interests have been allowed in relation to M.B. Khodorkovsky and P.L. Lebedev, which rule out the possibility of a fair examination and resolution of the case.

Click to read the defense’s full stay motion.

Khodorkovsky is known to the world for his commitment to transparency and corporate governance in business as well as his contributions to the development of civil society in Russia. He is Russia's most famous political prisoner.

Learn more about Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Yukos Affair Timeline

"I believe in Russia's future, and this also includes Russia's judicial system. I try to help the judicial system to become qualified, independent and impartial... We have an opportunity to set things right so that no one will ever feel ashamed of our country."

Platon Lebedev
5 Oct 2007

Platon Lebedev, was Director of Group MENATEP Limited, the holding company for YUKOS. Trained as an industrial economist, Lebedev pioneered modern business practices.

Learn more about Platon Lebedev

Yukos Affair Timeline

Top Stories

  • Globe

    Rosneft Gets Bruised by Yukos

    19 Mar 2010 | Khodorkovsky and Lebedev Communications Center

    The once-small state-owned oil company Rosneft, which overnight rocketed itself into the role of a global oil player and Russia's biggest producer, has found that some problems with their tricky acquisition of Yukos assets are coming home to roost.

    Read more

  • MBK - Arrest

    Decorative Due Process and Adaptive Legal Nihilism

    18 Mar 2010 | Khodorkovsky and Lebedev Communications Center

    Legal nihilism in Russia is an adaptive animal, exemplified by the Khodorkovsky-Lebedev trial. After seven years of blatant Kremlin injustice, state prosecutors have refined their ability to hold convincing show trials.

    Read more

  • MBK - Bars

    Khodorkovsky to Putin: You Owe Me Answers

    17 Mar 2010 | The Independent

    Speaking to the Independent today, Mikhail Khodorkovsky calls on Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to answer key questions as a witness in court.

    Read more

  • Globe

    The Ebb and Flow of State Dept Criticism of Russian Human Rights

    12 Mar 2010 | Khodorkovsky and Lebedev Communications Center

    According to the US State Department, Russia's electoral process and human rights record leaves much to be desired. In particular, events such as the death of Sergei Magnitsky and the Khodorkovsky-Lebedev trial highlight the abuses of trial procedures and political imprisonment.

    Read more

  • MBK/PLL bars

    MEMORIAL Germany: In Joint Support of Justice and Democracy

    11 Mar 2010 | Khodorkovsky and Lebedev Communications Center

    The Khodorkovsky case is turning into a “judicial farce”, according to Ulrike Mattfeldt, board member of MEMORIAL Germany. In an exclusive oped for the Khodorkovsky & Lebedev Communications Center, Mattfeld describes the countless cases of a lack of human rights in Russia, taken on by MEMORIAL.

    Read more

More News

Events

The Alternative France-Russia Year 2010 launched its new website providing information on the year-long schedule of events. The campaign, supported by leading French and Russian rights groups, aims to make sure that no one forgets that it is simply unacceptable to hide the rights abuses in Russia today - symbolized most dramatically by Khodorkovsky and Lebedev's current show trial.

Read more »

What Others are Saying

We welcome your comments on the monthly Khodorkovsky and Lebedev Communications Center Newsletter.

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"Symbolizing all that is wrong with the Russian system is the current trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his former partner, Platon Lebedev, who ran the Yukos Oil Company. The absurd charges against them—for example, embezzling 350 million tons of oil--are an attack on the fundamental right of individuals to own property under law. As this is the second trial for both men, it is a palpable judicial farce."

Stephen Blank, Professor, Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army

"It’s very difficult not to believe that the way the charges have been put against him and the way his court case has been delayed and treated and frustrated, that there is not a political motivation to punish him for daring to criticise, or to take him out of the political scene altogether."

Malcolm Bruce, UK Liberal Democrat MP