MOSCOW, January 23 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Supreme Court (click here) on Thursday reduced the jail sentence of an associate of former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky to time served, setting the stage for his imminent release.
Platon Lebedev was jailed in 2003 and then convicted of tax evasion in 2005 and embezzlement and money laundering in 2010, charges that his supporters have maintained were Kremlin retribution for Khodorkovsky’s political ambitions.
Lebedev’s lawyer said Thursday that his client could be released from jail later in the day....
MOSCOW, January 23 (RIA Novosti) – President Vladimir Putin (click here) has nominated an outspoken Kremlin critic as Russia’s next ombudsman.
Putin told rights activists Tuesday that he would formally nominate Ella Pamfilova, former head of the Kremlin human rights council, to the post after a meeting with her. No date was set.
Pamfilova, 60, has not commented on the prospective appointment as of this article’s publication.
The outgoing ombudsman Vladimir Lukin endorsed Pamfilova’s nomination, as did a number of prominent independent activists....
...The Kremlin advisory body has a track record of criticizing Russian authorities, including on the cases of the jailed Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was freed last month, and the death in custody of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky....
Russia needs to dedicate more assets to these complaints. That seems to be a problem. Where complaints are numerous, an increase in employees in regional authority will increase the ability to solve the complaints rather than shelving them.
Russia is more than capable of solving problems by adding those that administer a resolve to the complaints. Perhaps this aspect of the Russian government needs advisers to evaluate the lethargic nature of handling of important complaints. Some complaints are more urgent than others.
It isn't as though Russia isn't concerned about it's people, but, by lacking resolve to problem the country is viewed by a global community as oppressive and not progressive, victimizing rather than respectful. Russian citizens deserve the respect of their government when they complain. The way this works best is; To resolve complaints usually leads to fewer and fewer complaints as time goes by. Negligence of citizen complaints only compounds the problem while people lose faith in their government.
...VLADIMIR PUTIN: I see that it includes specific issues. (click here) An appeal to carry out an inspection in the Moscow Region on the infractions in providing medicines to people who suffer from oncology diseases (I just opened it up randomly), and there is a response from the government of Moscow Region.
Overall, in your opinion, how is cooperation with government agencies being carried out?
VLADIMIR LUKIN: As always, it is erratic. A commissioner rarely encounters a rude answer or a flat “no.” But it is infrequent – rarer than we would like – for our complaints to be given proper attention.
I would like to draw your attention to the following figure. In 2011, out of the total number of complaints we received, only about 10 percent (9.9 per cent) were settled, and this year, that figure was 7.5 percent. Naturally, this may have to do with a variety of circumstances, including temporary fluctuations.
But nevertheless, I feel there is some carelessness in the way people react to what we have to say in connection with peoples’ complaints. And it would be nice if this percentage were to increase. This figure is not lower than the corresponding figures human rights commissioners get in other nations (more than 100 countries have established such institution), but it would be good if it were higher.
Thus, we have long wanted to suggest that we send reports to governors, and you could work through the Presidential Executive Office to recommend that the governors respond to complaints coming from their regions. Then we would get feedback and be able to present more specific information to society, the President, and all government agencies on what is being done regarding the complaints.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: I fully agree with you. I hope that the governors will hear us after today’s meeting. And the Presidential Executive Office will send that signal during corresponding meetings, and the governors will get those instructions.
VLADIMIR LUKIN: If I may, I want to say a few words about the regional aspects: the Central and Volga federal districts had the greatest number of complaints, while the North Caucasus and Far East federal districts are at the bottom of the list....
