December 8, 2003	Monday	Shawwal 13, 1424

LONDON: Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Russian oil magnate arrested by security agents in October, is taking Vladimir Putin’s government to the European Court of Human Rights.

Lawyers confirmed on Saturday that an action had been filed at the court in Strasbourg accusing the Kremlin of trying to “frame” the former chief executive of Yukos, Russia’s largest oil company.

The news coincides with elections to Russia’s Duma this weekend, in which President Putin’s United Russia party is expected to be a clear winner.

Robert Amsterdam, one of Khodorkovsky’s attorneys, said that Russia, as a member of the Council of Europe, was under the jurisdiction of the Strasbourg court.

“My client’s illegal incarceration is a criminal violation of the European Convention of Human Rights, to which Russia is a signatory,” he said. “There is no legal basis for the Russian government’s claim that this is an internal matter.”

Khodorkovsky, one of Russia’s most prominent “oligarchs”, faces charges of fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion, all of which he denies. He claims to be the victim of a politically motivated prosecution arising from his outspoken criticism of Putin.

The billionaire’s detention in a Moscow jail has drawn criticism from human rights campaigners and some business leaders.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service.