MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY

That this House notes that 25th October marks the fourth anniversary of the incarceration of Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky, the former Chief Executive of Yukos; expresses concern over the legal inconsistencies of his trial and over the new charges against him that will ensure he remains in prison throughout next year's Russian elections; further notes that in the four years that have passed since Mr Khodorkovsky's arrest the selective application of law in the Russian Federation has created an uncertain and destabilising environment for companies and non-governmental offices and for British and other foreign investors in particular; is further concerned by Amnesty International's report on the systemic use of torture across the Russian Federation; and calls on Russia to eschew totalitarianism and more securely to embrace democracy, the rule of law, political plurality and freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, guaranteeing the independence of Russia's criminal justice system and equality before the law of all individuals, corporate bodies and other organisations.