Lawyers demand immediate improvements in his conditions and transfer to a dedicated, sterile and well managed unit for AIDS patients in accordance with the repeated decisions of the European Court.

Moscow, 28 February 2008: Former Yukos executive, Vasily Aleksanyan, today expressed his grave concerns as to the inhumane and unsanitary surroundings of the hospital in which he remains incarcerated after 693 days in detention without trial.

In a recent message to his lawyers Vasily said: "…they are not giving me the opportunity to take showers, which is standard practice when following established rules of hygiene, and all the more so considering my condition. They are administering lumbar punctures, shots and trepanobiopsies without giving me the opportunity to wash first. Since 8 February I have been taken to the shower only three times. The guards say that they can only take me to the shower with the permission of the remand prison warden. At the same time my doctors consider that I need a shower every day. There are no problems preventing them from allowing me such an opportunity – the shower is on the very same floor in the corridor. The last time I was allowed a shower was more than a week ago. I think this is being done intentionally".

Drew Holiner, Vasily Aleksanyan's legal counsel before the European Court of Human Rights, was astonished at the inhumane and unsanitary conditions: "The indignities Vasily is being forced to endure are off the scale in terms of degrading treatment. For the first eight days of his incarceration in this so-called hospital ward he was not allowed access to family or lawyers despite daily pleas. For the first ten days he was handcuffed to his bed around the clock and now some ninety nine weeks after his detention began, despite his raging temperatures, his acute AIDS, suspected TB and invasive medical procedures, the prison authorities won't allow him to take showers, even though his doctors say he needs them on a daily basis. Guards switch shifts and make noisy 'inspections' of his room throughout the night, so he is only able to get about 3-4 hours sleep a day at most."

"I am deeply concerned for his welfare. This ongoing harassment, which seems designed to make sure his conditions are as miserable as possible, are creating a risk of further infections and pose a serious threat to his health".