The following is the official press statement from the offices of the German MP Dr Andreas Schockenhoff, who attended the second trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky as an observer. His conclusions, as you can read below, are sharply critical of the legal farce currently being conducted by the Russian authorities. Perhaps with statements like this from Schockenhoff and the recent Council of Europe report, Europe can finally begin to strip away the long-standing presumption of regularity and benefit of the doubt extended forward Russia’s politically controlled legal system.

MP Dr. Andreas Schockenhoff, Deputy Chairman of CDU/CSU Parliamentary Faction, states:

I just observed the trial against ex-Yukos boss Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his partner, Platon Lebedev. Before, I had received a briefing on the course of the trial by Mr Vadim Klyuvgant, head of the MBK attorney team.

The reason for wanting to draw my own picture of the proceedings against Mr Khodorkovsky and Mr Lebedev is the widespread concern in Germany, especially among the German Bundestag, that the current proceedings are not congruent with the constitutional and legal norms which Russia has committed itself to. Moreover, there is concern about political influence on the proceedings and that this trial will be used for political goals.