Picketers in Moscow condemn the 2005 sentence on Khodorkovsky and Lebedev and call for political prisoners to be released.

On Saturday protestors on New Pushkin Square in central Moscow recalled the third anniversary of the sentence passed on Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev. On 31 May 2005, after 12 days of deliberation, the judge sentenced both men to nine years imprisonment. Asked if he understood the verdict, Mikhail Khodorkovsky said, he understood: the verdict was a monument to Basmanny-style justice. Platon Lebedev also gave his opinion of the court’s procedural creativity: “Not one normal person can understand this verdict.”

Those taking part in Saturday’s picket protested against all the sentences passed by the Moscow courts in these cases: “On the third anniversary of the sentencing of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev we are demonstrating in support of all political prisoners, all those who have suffered for their beliefs and the right to be free people in their own country. We have not lost our belief that Russia will become a land of justice and of the law.”

Radio Liberty has described what happened on New Pushkin Square. The presenter Alexei Kuznetsov was joined by Radio Liberty’s correspondent Oleg Kusov.

Oleg Kusov: The picket organised to mark the third anniversary of the sentence on Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev gathered in support of all political prisoners in Russia. One of those who organised the protest, Andrei Naletov, an expert from the For Human Rights movement, considers that Russia certainly has political prisoners.

Andrei Naletov: All rights activists and those who can think for themselves consider that there are, of course, political prisoners in Russia. Many are imprisoned as the result of politically motivated verdicts. We named some, a very small number, in our open letter to Dmitry Medvedev about a pardon, which was delivered to the presidential administration. A great many are imprisoned for short and for quite lengthy sentences. They exist and that is a fact of contemporary Russia.

Oleg Kusov: Do you put much faith in the open letter to Dmitry Medvedev?

Andrei Naletov: I never trust the authorities, that’s my personal attitude. I am not accustomed to trust either the authorities or officials but it is the business of a human rights activist to act, not to believe, and use every chance of dialogue with those people who can actually decide whether a political prisoner is released or not. It is our job to maintain a dialogue and do everything to free our Russian political prisoners.

Oleg Kusov: When the organisers applied to hold their picket they said there would be fifty people there. That was roughly how many came, bringing with their own posters. The police were disturbed by one poster which read “Free Khodorkovsky — Get lost, Putin!” The captain in charge strongly advised them to remove that slogan. The protestors refused to comply. The picket was already over. People left and all passed off without incident.

Alexei Kuznetsov: So, apart from this strong advice, which you have described, I understand that there were no serious clashes?

Oleg Kusov: Those on the picket, the passers-by and the police all behaved properly.

Alexei Kuznetsov: What do you think about the open letter to Medvedev, Oleg? It was publicised and discussed quite vigorously in the press but do you think it can lead to some action? As far as I know, there has not been any response so far.

Oleg Kusov: I discussed this with those at the protest and many said the same as Andrei Naletov. We must struggle, appeal to the authorities and make demands on them, because the authorities are not our bosses — they are managers who must carry out the will of their citizens, those who elected them and entrusted them with running the country. These managers then begin to imprison people for unclear reasons. Of course, people do not trust them but they believe that they must make demands. Most important is to persuade the authorities that they must answer to the people, and not the reverse.

The photograph is taken from the Kasparov.ru website