Human rights memorandum to President Medvedev. Human rights memorandum to President Medvedev. Among its many concerns — erosion of freedom of expression, association and assembly in Russia, the situation in the North Caucasus, domestic violence — Amnesty singles out the plight of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Platon Lebedev and Vasily Aleksanyan.

On 8 May the European Parliament approved its “Annual Report on Human Rights in the World 2007 and EU policy on the matter”. A substantial section is devoted to the situation in Russia.

Amnesty International launched its annual assessment of human rights worldwide.

The European Parliament gave overwhelming backing to the EP's 2006 annual report on Human Rights in the World.

Khodorkovsky case is likely to be discussed in the European Parliament.

The US State Department identified Russia’s political prisoners.

Russia finds its place on the International Property Rights Index.

Members of Deutscher Bundestag supports Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

MEP want Moscow to hear them.

Over 100 Members of the European Parliament urge President Putin to give Mikhail Khodorkovsky a fair trial.

Claimed the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights.

Twenty-five parliamentarians have signed an open letter to the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner, Thomas Hammerberg, in which they’ve expressed concern over the political situation in Russia.

Western politics comment on Russian political show trials.

On June 15 the European parliament members adopted a resolution following the results of EU-Russia summit held in Sochi on 25 May 2006.

The report specifically pointed to the cases of former Yukos executives Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev to illustrate the poor state of Russia’s judicial system. “The cases highlighted serious problems in Russia's criminal justice system relating to the independence of the judiciary, access to effective legal counsel, conditions of detention and the use of torture and ill-treatment in order to extract confessions," the report said.

The European Parliament passes a resolution on human rights in Russia and the new NGO legislation. The resolution also mentions the trials of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev as evidence of growing government influence over the judicial system.

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