The following long article was published in the Polish magazine Dziennik.

“Power, Carry out Your Laws!”

By Robert Amsterdam

These words stated by Mikhail Khodorkovsky at the start of a second show trial against him in Moscow this March should echo in the ears not only of the country’s leadership, but also of all those who wish to engage constructively with Russia. For a leadership that does not respect its own laws is one that no one can trust – not its own citizens and not its foreign partners.

On the night this second sham prosecution against Khodorkovsky began, a prominent 67-year-old human rights activist was savagely beaten for among other things supporting the release of Russia’s most famous political prisoner. The timing could not have been worse for Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who was in London with his international peers. Once again Medvedev’s commitment and ability to fight what he calls “legal nihilism” – and to establish the rule of law in Russia – was sorely tested.