Presidential council experts uncover violations in second Yukos case - MHG head (Part 2)

Presidential council experts uncover violations in second Yukos case - MHG head (Part 2)

"There were violations of generally recognized criminal prosecution principles and the procedures needed to ensure a fair trial," a council member, Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) head Lyudmila Alexeyeva, told Interfax on Friday.

On December 21, council members plan to discuss the results of an independent inquiry into the second Yukos case conducted with the help of authoritative experts, she said.

A document containing the examination results is 420 pages long, plus two and a half pages of the council's recommendations, and eight more pages explaining how the second Yukos case was analyzed and by which economic and law experts, Alexeyeva said.

"These eight pages are quite impressive. It was a very difficult case," she said.

"Our high-class specialists accomplished a gigantic amount of work. I do not know what can match such an examination," she said.

The council plans to forward the results of the independent analysis of the second verdict handed down to ex-Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his former business partner Platon Lebedev to the head of state, Alexeyeva said.

"We asked the experts to analyze the court resolution on the second Yukos case and the court's verdict itself, not all subsequent decisions," Presidential Human Rights Council Chairman Mikhail Fedotov told Interfax earlier.

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(Our editorial staff can be reached at eng.editors@interfax.ru)

MOSCOW, December 16 (Itar-Tass) —— A city court in Karelia, where tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky is serving his prison term, annulled two reprimands imposed on him by the warden as “unlawful and unfounded”, lawyer Vadim Klyuvgant told Tass on Thursday.

The decision may open a way for parole to Khodorkovsky who has served over a half of his 14-year prison term which expires in 2016.

“The Senezh city court satisfied Khodorkovsky’s complaint and annulled the reprimands,” Klyuvgant said.

He specified Khodorkovsky received the reprimands for “improper attitude to labor” and “for being in an unauthorized place without permission.” The lawyer explained Khodorkovsky “could not fulfill the assignment of the foreman because of the absence of a welder and waited for the foreman in his office in the premises of the production shop to get a new assignment.”

Klyuvgant said he was fully satisfied with the court ruling. “It is the only correct decision which the court could pass as the reprimand was absolutely unfounded,” he said.

Earlier the court annulled another reprimand to Khodorkovsky for offering cigarettes to his cell mates. Prison authorities qualified it as “unlawful disposal of items in favor of other convicts.”

“Klyuvgant described both reprimands as “faked” and violations as “invented.”

Khodorkovsky and his former partner Platon Lebedev were sentenced to 14 years in jail for fraud and money laundering. They have to stay in jail up to 2016. Lebedev already attempted to be released on parole, but the request was denied because of reprimands from prison authorities.

GOOGLE TRANSLATION

A Kremlin source: Vladislav Surkov refused to head the presidential administration

http://top.rbc.ru/politics/16/12/2011/630271.shtml

Channel RBC is surrounded by Vladislav Surkov said that a week ago he was made an offer to head the presidential administration. However, the official had refused to go on increasing.
After the departure of Sergei Naryshkin from the post office head Vladislav Surkov is temporarily acting as chief of staff. The source added that it is not known whether there will be Surkov's administration under the new leadership.
The main candidates for the post of chief of staff experts call the Deputy Prime Minister, Head of Government Staff Vyacheslav Volodin and Natalia Timakova, press secretary of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
The reason for personnel changes at the Kremlin has been a shift S. Naryshkin, who headed the list of "United Russia" in the Leningrad region in parliamentary elections, to work in the Duma. December 15 it became known that he had decided not to waive the mandate. Political analysts tipped Sergei Naryshkin as Speaker of the lower chamber of parliament, after State Duma has left its former chairman Boris Gryzlov.
Note that with the State Duma Sergey Naryshkin decided to move to another influential representative of the party in power - Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov. It is also considered one of the contenders for the post of Speaker.

December 16, 2011

Source in Prokhorov’s entourage claims businessman was promised premier’s post – newspaper

http://www.interfax.co.uk/

RUSSIA-PROKHOROV-PROSPECTS

MOSCOW. Dec 16 (Russia Business and Financial News) – Businessman Mikhail Prokhorov is unlikely to win Russia’s presidential election next year, but he…

00:59 16/12/2011ALL NEWS

MOSCOW, December 15 (Itar-Tass) — Literally three hours before midnight, Russian billionaire businessman Mikhail Prokhorov arrived at the Central Electoral Commission /CEC/ and submitted the documents confirming his self-nomination as a candidate for the March 2012 presidential election.

His nomination took place earlier in the day at a meeting of the spearhead public group. A source close to the billionaire told Itar-Tass the group includes more than 700 people and the meeting itself was held in the presence of about 200 reporters.

Quite a big number of well-known personalities could be seen at the meeting. They supported Prokhorov previously when he stood at the head of the Right Cause party.

Sources confirmed to Itar-Tass that the scope of showbiz and popular literature celebrities included pop diva Alla Pugachova, chansonnier Andrei Makarevich, theater and movie actors Leonid Yarmolnik and Konstantin Khabensky, writer Viktor Yerofeyev, and TV talk-show host Alexander Lyubimov.

Prokhorov handed to the CEC workgroup a rather impressive package of documents, including his personal written consent to run for presidency, the Xerox copies of his domestic passport and higher education certificate, the statement on revenues in the period of 2007 through to 2010, and other papers.

CEC technical experts will have five days now to examine and verify Prokhorov’s documents. If they endorse the package, his spearhead public group will be registered and permission will be issued to him to open a special account for accumulating an electoral fund.

To get an official registration as a presidential candidate, Prokhorov and other self-nominees will have to gather 2 million signatures in their support. The deadline for submitting the signup lists to the CEC is 18:00 hours Moscow Standard Time /14:00 hours GMT/ January 18, 2012.

CEC forecasts suggesting that Thursday, the last day for self-nomination would be quite eventful proved true.

Earlier in the day, former mayor of Vladivostok, Viktor Cherepkov turned in his documents. It was his second go, as Wednesday the CEC workgroup offered him to eliminate some inconsistencies in the paperwork.

The documents were also submitted by the Irkutsk region governor, Dmitry Mezentsev, and Svetlana Peunova, the leader of the Volya /Will/ movement.

One more person who presented his documents was writer Boris Mironov, whose works became the subject of complaints a few years ago over the presence in them of what was described as extremist motifs.

Still earlier, the CEC received the documents from healer Nikolai Levashov, Colonel-General /Ret./ Leonid Ivashov, and a certain Renat Khamiyev from the town of Orsk in the Orenburg region.

CEC Secretary Nikolai Konkin told reporters the final number of self-nominees will be known Friday. He indicated that the nomination campaign is anyway at the very outset right now.