RUSSIA: ROBERT AMSTERDAM LAWYER FOR BUSINESSMAN MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY ACCUSED OF FRAUD, IS TOLD TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY.

Record ID: 646544

  • Title: RUSSIA: ROBERT AMSTERDAM LAWYER FOR BUSINESSMAN MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY ACCUSED OF FRAUD, IS TOLD TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY.
  • Date: 23rd September 2005
  • Summary: (W2) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (SEPTEMBER 23, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. WS/EXTERIOR: OF MOSCOW'S ARARAT HYATT HOTEL/ STREET VIEW. 0.09 2. MV: INTERIOR OF HOTEL LOBBY/ ROBERT AMSTERDAM, CANADIAN LAWYER ON THE DEFENCE TEAM FOR RUSSIAN TYCOON MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY, SPEAKING ON MOBILE PHONE. 0.14 3. WS: GUESTS SEATED IN HOTEL LOBBY. 0.19 4. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) ROBERT AMSTERDAM, CANADIAN LAWYER ON THE DEFENCE TEAM FOR RUSSIAN TYCOON MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY, SAYING: "I was woken at approximately one o'clock in the morning by five officers, I believe they were FSB, demanding my passport. I asked them if I was under arrest, and they said no, but they wanted to take me to the (police) station. I said that I was refusing to go; they then demanded my passport. I gave them my passport. They said that I had violated the visa regulations. I denied that and they then told me that I had 24 hours to leave the country. I asked them if they understood what they were doing and they said 'yes'. They then took my passport. We called counsel and had counsel confront them; they would not give her their names; we believe they were with the organs (of state power) but we don't know which one. I am on a five o'clock flight tonight and if for any reason I miss that flight, I am told that I would be arrested." 1.37 5. MV: STAFF AND GUESTS AT HOTEL RECEPTION. 1.42 6. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) ROBERT AMSTERDAM, CANADIAN LAWYER ON THE DEFENCE TEAM FOR RUSSIAN TYCOON MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY, SAYING: "Well, my future travel plans for Moscow maybe some what compromised, but we are going to work on that. Because I certainly intend to be back here. Mr. Khodorkovsky now needs more than ever all the help he can get and I think targeting someone who is his lawyer goes to the very fundamentals of the right to a defence, the right to free speech, and we've said this is a political trial, it's a political case. Yesterday's marathon cassation trial and then arresting me, harassing me last night only confirms everything we have said." 2.24 7. WS: HOTEL GUESTS IN LOBBY. 2.28 8. WS: AMSTERDAM WALKING UP THE STAIRS IN HOTEL LOBBY. 2.37 9. WS/EXTERIOR: OF MAIN ENTRANCE TO HOTEL. 2.46 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 8th October 2005 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
  • Country: Russia
  • Reuters ID: LVA4ZJUIH6FDGL8DCR2FAEHQFV9S
  • Story Text: An international lawyer for billionaire Mikhail
    Khodorkovsky has been told to leave Russia.



    An international lawyer for billionaire Mikhail
    Khodorkovsky said on Friday (September 23) that authorities
    had revoked his visa and told him to leave Russia, hours
    after the jailed tycoon lost his appeal against a fraud
    conviction.

    A Moscow court on Thursday (September 22, 2005) night threw
    out Khodorkovsky's appeal against his conviction for fraud
    and tax evasion though they reduced his jail sentence by
    one year to 8 years.

    Robert Amsterdam, a Canadian lawyer who has been an
    outspoken critic of the Kremlin throughout the Khodorkovsky
    case, said FSB state security officers came to his Moscow
    hotel on Thursday night.

    They annulled his visa and gave him 24 hours to leave
    the country.

    "I was woken at approximately one o'clock in the
    morning by five officers - I believe they were FSB
    demanding my passport. I asked them if I was under arrest,
    and they said no, but they wanted to take me to the (police) station.

    I said that I was refusing to go; they
    then demanded my passport. I gave them my passport. They
    said that I had violated the visa regulations. I denied
    that and they then told me that I had 24 hours to leave the
    country. I asked them if they understood what they were doing
    and they said 'yes'. They then took my passport. We
    called counsel and had counsel confront them; they would
    not give her their names; we believe they were with the
    organs (of state power) but we don't know which one. I am
    on a five o'clock flight tonight and if for any reason I
    miss that flight, I am told that I would be arrested,"
    Amsterdam told Reuters.

    Amsterdam, principal point of contact for the
    international media since Khodorkovsky was arrested at
    gunpoint in October 2003, has been insistent in his
    comments that the prosecution of the tycoon was engineered
    by the Kremlin and aimed at punishing him for political
    ambitions.

    Officials from the FSB state security service could not
    be immediately reached for comment.

    Amsterdam said he planned to return to Moscow to
    continue to defend Khodorkovsky.

    "Well, my future travel plans for Moscow maybe some
    what compromised, but we are going to work on that. Because
    I certainly intend to be back here. Mr. Khodorkovsky now
    needs more than ever all the help he can get and I think
    targeting someone who is his lawyer goes to the very
    fundamentals of the right to a defence, the right to free
    speech, and we've said this is a political trial, it's a
    political case. Yesterday's marathon cassation trial and
    then arresting me, harassing me last night only confirms
    everything we have said," Amsterdam added.

    Meanwhile, Russian penal authorities were quoted by
    Interfax news agency as saying Khodorkovsky, 42, and his
    co-accused Platon Lebedev, would be transferred from their
    remand jail in Moscow to a prison camp to serve their
    sentence some time in the next 10 days.



  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register