Below is a translation of an important interview with German MP Eckart von Klaeden about the fifth anniversary of Mikhail Khodorkovsky's arrest. Von Klaeden also authored an op/ed some time ago in support of our political prisoner. The original German version of the article can be read here.
“The Khodorkovsky Case is a Litmus Test for Development in Russia”
Five years ago Mikhail Khodorkovsky was arrested and convicted. Eckart von Klaeden, Foreign Policy Spokesman for the CDU/CSU faction in the Bundestag, takes a stand on constitutional development in Russia.DW Russian: Mr. von Klaeden, as Mikhail Khodorkovsky was arrested and then convicted five years ago on October 25, 2003, pictures circulated the globe that showed the ex-Yukos boss as a hardened criminal behind bars in a cage before the court. Can you still remember what thoughts went through your head when you saw these pictures?
Eckart von Klaeden: The memories of course blend with what I subsequently read, but the first impression was that a show trial was taking place.
Has this impression been confirmed in the years you have been following the case?At any rate the Russians in the Kremlin decided to make an example of the Khodorkovsky case, and the example is, “you can be economically engaged, you can make a lot of money as oligarchs in Russia, as long as you don’t interfere in politics.” That is the rule Khodorkovsky broke. Whether there was criminally relevant behavior, in particular concerning tax laws, is a question I cannot judge. What we have all been able to observe however, is the extremely dubious way his company, Yukos, was destroyed, and the persecution of his lawyer, which is not compatible with constitutional conditions.
The new president Dmitri Medvedev promised before taking office, and then again afterwards, that under his regime there will be more legal security in Russia. Do you think Russia should get more active in Khodorkovsky’s case as well?
Of course. I believe that the Khodorkovsky case is a litmus test for other constitutional developments in Russia, whether there will be an improvement to hope for over the next few years or whether we must assume that things will deteriorate. Several investigations, including one from the World Bank, have shown that constitutionality decreased and corruption increased under the regime of President Putin.
And in your opinion is that a situation that the West should not continue to accept?
That is really a decision that the Russian leadership must make. We must adapt to this development in Russia. Less constitutionality and more corruption means less reliability in Russia holding to laws and contracts and increased risk for investment in Russia. If we assume that Russia is dependent on foreign investments, especially for the modernization of the country, assuring more constitutionality is also in Russia’s interests. Whether Russia shares this analysis of interests as we see it is a different story, if we look at the Georgian conflict, for example. This is why we must observe developments in Russia, offer our cooperation and support, but the decision as to what direction Russia will take lies ultimately with the Kremlin.
Khodorkovsky has been imprisoned for five years and his request for early release has been refused repeatedly. Do you think that the Khodorkovsky case will soon be forgotten? Is it still occasionally a topic in political Berlin?
It is still a topic in political Berlin. There are engaged lawyers who are addressing the case. Putin himself mentioned the case in a meeting with Prime Minister Merkel in March, and indicated that an early release would be possible for Khodorkovsky. The decision is President Medvedev’s however. The Russian side put the case back on the agenda of its own design. We will continue to observe how it is handled, whether he can hope for a constitutional procedure in his time in prison. Unfortunately this has not been the case so far.
Interview by Britta Kleymann
