"A court in Russia has ruled that a jailed former top manager of the disbanded oil group Yukos cannot be transferred to a clinic for treatment." Vasily Aleksanyan, placed in prison two years ago after being found guilty of embezelment, is reported to have AIDS. The Yukos founder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who is also in prison, said Mr Aleksanyan had been refused medication and deliberately placed in poor conditions refusing to sign false confessions. "He said he had no choice but to "abandon the legal framework" and start a hunger strike." "I am facing an impossible moral choice: admit to crimes I haven't committed and save the life of a man, but destroy the fate of innocents who will be charged as my accomplices," Vasily Aleksanyan said. He also claims that he has developed serious health complications and is nearly blind. Mr Khodorkovsky's international lawyer Robert Amsterdam said Russia was "flouting not only international law but the norms of morality". "
To read the story in its entirety, click here.
This may become an issue with other nations if Vasily Aleksanyan dies in prison because he did not recieve proper medical treatment, which could, in turn, spur an international distrust towards Russia on top of their assistance to Iran's nuclear program. It may also draw questions on their justice system and the manner of punishment.
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2 comments:
Vasily Aleksanyan has not actually been convicted of anything - he is currently being held in a pre-trial detention facility. For more about his case:
www.mka-london.co.uk
As I researched after your recieving your comment, half the sources I found said that Vasily Aleksanyan was still on trial and half that said he had been convicted and simply facing new charges I have found numerous quotes from numerous sources and the url of the site where I found it.
"Prosecutors have pressed new charges of embezzlement and money laundering against Mr Khodorkovsky, who is already jailed in east Siberia in a politically charged fraud case."
http://www.khodorkovsky.info/media/136006.html
Vasily Aleksanyan, defense lawyer for Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was arrested on April 6, 2006, on charges of embezzlement and money laundering only five days after being appointed Executive Vice President of Yukos Oil Company. Aleksanyan was questioned and his house searched on April 5. On October 10, 2006, the Moscow City Court upheld the prosecution’s request to hold Aleksanyan in prison through December 2, 2006 while the investigation is ongoing and again through March 2, 2007 while Aleksanyan and his lawyers review the case material.
http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:qWuK6pj8jGQJ:www.supportkhodorkovsky.com/what/documents/HarassmentofCounsel5.31.07.doc+Vasily+Aleksanyan+found+guilty+of+embezzlement&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=uk
and from the BBC article that is hyperlinked in my original post:
Vasily Aleksanyan, placed in prison two years ago after being found guilty of embezelment, is reported to have AIDS. The Yukos founder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who is also in prison, said Mr Aleksanyan had been refused medication and deliberately placed in poor conditions refusing to sign false confessions.
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