The following is an exclusive translation from the French newspaper Liberation about the story of Yukos lawyer Svetlana Bakhmina. Also see recent pieces by Yulia Latynina and Mark Franchetti. You can sign a petition to support her release here.

Svetlana Bakhmina, victim of the Kremlin’s ruthlessness Her two sons, now 11 and 7 years old, think she is on a “business trip”. A trip that has been on for four years now, during which she could only call a few times. In four years, Svetlana Bakhmina was able to see her sons only once during a 10 days leave. In that same short period of time she became pregnant with a third child who is now likely to be born in prison, unless last minute pardon. Svetlana Bakhmina’s case is one of the most pathetic ones in the “Yukos case” and an example of the Kremlin’s ruthlessness against ex CEO Mikhail Kodorkovsky’s team. His own case is so tragic that it started a controversy in Russia, supporters and opponents fighting on Internet.