Ex-Yukos Manager to Get Treatment

"A gravely ill former top manager of Russia's disbanded oil giant Yukos is to be transferred from jail to a clinic, prison officials say." Previously, he was denied medical treatement outside of the prison and his former boss, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, claimed that it was a punishment for not testifying. Then, he went on a hunger strike in hope that Vasily Aleksanyan might get the treatment in order to survive his stay in prison. "Mr Aleksanyan's lawyers say he has developed serious health complications and is nearly blind."


"Aleksanyan is currently being tried in Moscow on charges of embezzlement. The move to transfer him to hospital follows pressure from human rights activists on Russia's prison service. It reverses Wednesday's court ruling, which said that Mr Aleksanyan should be treated in jail."


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This shows that, even in Russia, protests and political pressure from unions and activists can create positive results. Now, Aleksanyan will remain in custody, but attain the medical help he needed to survive AIDS and his near blindness.

NOTE: Neither Aleksanyan’s lawyers nor his family have been informed of his location, nor have they received confirmation that he is receiving treatment for AIDS as required by repeated injunctions of the European Court of Human Rights. One of Aleksanyan’s lawyers, Drew Holiner said: “We are very concerned about Vasily. We have no idea where he has been taken, and this is particularly alarming given Vasily’s repeated statements that he has been placed under pressure to give false testimony by investigators."For more information, go to www.mka-london.co.uk


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Russian Convict Denied Medical Transfer

"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". "

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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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