Today, 25th October, marks the tenth anniversary of the arrest of Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky, now Russia's most famous political prisoner. A short while ago, Ben Judah wrote to him asking about the circumstances of his imprisonment, and how that experience has changed him. This is what he sai
Russia’s seizure in international waters of the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, the arrests, refusal of bail and charges of piracy for activists and crew alike has provoked worldwide outrage. But what are the reasons for Moscow’s heavy-handedness; and why has the official western response been so
Well-off Russian bureaucrats have got used to having a second home abroad, whether it’s a cottage in Ukraine or a castle in Spain. But these are now under threat from Vladimir Putin’s latest intervention – a ban on foreign bank accounts. Mikhail Loginov reports.
As the saying goes: ‘Russia has two misfortunes: the fools and the roads.’ Aleksei Navalny is just about still standing for election as Mayor of Moscow, but, in the proverbial way, he is also raising his profile in the provinces by offering people practical help with everyday problems.
The Russian legal system’s human rights record is appalling, but the European Court in Strasbourg is powerless to enforce its own rulings. Kirill Koroteev describes the day to day of working as a lawyer at distinguished Russian NGO ‘Memorial’.
Russia’s new NGO law forcing organisations to register as ‘foreign agents’ continues to take its toll. ‘Public Verdict’ Foundation, who help victims of police abuse, will not consent to this label. They may have to close down. Asmik Novikova and Natalya Taubina write movingly of their work.
Proposals to cut legal aid and judicial review in Britain will make it harder for people fighting for their rights to challenge the government's cuts agenda, and will remove one of the few lifelines to justice for asylum seekers, refugees and undocumented workers, says Kate Blagojevic.
Alesksey Navalny was this morning unexpectedly released from custody, but he will be back in prison within a few weeks, says Grigorii Golosov. How has the opposition leader managed to become so well-known — and so dangerous for the Kremlin — in such a short space of time?
The uncompromising sentences passed down today to Aleksey Navalny and co-defendant Petr Ofitserov demonstrate that the Putin regime has crossed over to the twilight phase. The only thing it can offer Russia now is fear, and that is not much of a programme, says Kirill Rogov
72 544x376 Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE Anastasia Valeeva describes a bullish mood aboard the train carrying opposition leader Aleksey Navalny from Moscow to Kirov yesterday. Navalny and 'accomplice' Petr Ofitserov would in the morning be sentenced to 5 and 4 years imprisonment r
Each year around 400 children forced by war to leave their families and homes in Afghanistan seek sanctuary in the UK. Lisa Matthews writes for Young People Seeking Safety Week on the young adults who, having rebuilt their lives, are now at threat of return.
