Along with the 60,000 other people who follow him on Twitter, I have received a New Year greeting from Mikhail Khordokovsky, who is now serving his ninth year in prison in Russia.In May 2011 Amnesty International designated Khordokovsky, along with his colleague Platon Lebedev, a Prisoner of Conscience, recognising that his imprisonment is a direct result of his political beliefs.
To learn more about his case Click here.
The unfair, corrupt and politically motivated legal process that Khordokovsky has experienced over the years, is a worked example of the truth that, sadly, the authorities in Russia continue to have a very imperfect grasp on what it means to respect the Rule of Law. This depresses all of us who love Russia and its people and hope that its leaders will have the courage and confidence to embrace true democracy.
I notice that at present Kordhokovsky is in prison in Karelia, which is to the North of St Petersberg. I spent some three months there when a student, and know that the ice only melts in late April and that the days in winter are very short.
So spare a thought for Mikhail Borisovich this New Year's Eve.
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