New Episode of The Keeper Podcast: Rule of Law Season – Freedom's Counsel

On the first episode of this Rule of Law season, we talked about the rule of law as a “a government of laws and not men”. Our guest on this episode, Professor Irwin Cotler, has his own shorthand for the rule of law: “the pursuit of justice”. If anyone in this world is intimately familiar with the tireless, unrelenting, undaunted pursuit of justice, it is Irwin Cotler – an accomplished academic, renowned international human rights lawyer, former Member of Parliament in Canada, as well as former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Founder and Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, and currently Canada’s first ever Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Anti-Semitism. In this episode, we discuss his four decades of serving as counsel for some of the world’s most prominent dissidents and political prisoners of conscience, as well as what he sees as worrying signs of a global resurgence in authoritarianism. 

Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights

For Irwin Cotler, neither a pandemic nor retirement from politics can slow his fight for human rights (The Globe and Mail)

Irwin Cotler named special envoy for Holocaust remembrance and the fight against anti-Semitism (CBC)

Irwin Cotler speaks at the 2012 Oslo Freedom Forum

Lantos Foundation Calls on Russia to Release all New Documents on Raoul Wallenberg

August 4, 2016 would have been the 94th birthday of the great Swedish diplomat and hero, Raoul Wallenberg. A few days after this anniversary, the New York Times reported that the recently published diaries of the first KGB Chief, Ivan Serov, contain previously unknown references to Stalin ordering the death of Wallenberg in 1947. (Read the New York Times article here.)

The famed humanitarian was kidnapped by the Soviets in Budapest in January of 1945. Wallenberg’s disappearance and ultimate fate in the Soviet Gulag has been the source of mystery, speculation, and frequent dissimulation on the part of Russian leadership for over seven decades.

The Lantos Foundation calls on the Russian government, once and for all, to make all relevant documents available to researchers, Wallenberg family members, and the Swedish government so that the mystery surrounding the cruel and unjust fate of one of the greatest humanitarians of the 20th century can finally be resolved.

Lantos Foundation President, Katrina Lantos Swett, said, “It is past time for Russia to come clean on all the circumstances surrounding the death of Raoul Wallenberg in Soviet custody. Both history and justice demand a full accounting of what happened to one of the most important rescuers and heroes of the Holocaust."

She added that, “The Raoul Wallenberg Research Initiative (RWI-70), launched in the past year with the goal of answering the many unanswered questions about Raoul’s fate, should be given full and free access to these recently discovered materials and all other relevant documents.”

Raoul Wallenberg is credited with saving tens of thousands of Jewish lives in Budapest in 1944, including the late Congressman Tom Lantos. In 1981 President Ronald Reagan signed into law Congressman Lantos’ legislation granting Raoul Wallenberg honorary US citizenship, only the second man so honored in US history.

Dr. Lantos Swett added, “While many questions remain about what happened to Raoul Wallenberg, what is beyond question is that through his courage and decency, Wallenberg not only rescued countless innocent lives, he also rescued our faith in the power of decency and goodness to stand up even in the face of unimaginable evil. His legacy of humanity and courage will live forever.”

Huffington Post- Interpol and Pichugin : Unwilling Pawns in Putin's Yukos Game by Katrina Lantos Swett

In 2014, the Russian government surprised the world by releasing two high-profile prisoners of conscience and former Yukos executives, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, each of whom who had been imprisoned on what were widely recognized to be false criminal charges. Though this was in part an act of goodwill on the eve of the Sochi Olympics, it also gave hope that Russia was signaling a turn towards an improved respect for the rule of law. However, since the start of those Olympics, it has been clear that such hopes were ill-founded. One only need to look to the current treatment of the first Yukos employee arrested, Alexei Pichugin, and that of the scores of Yukos officials who managed to flee Russia, to see that Mr. Putin's tactics remain an example of the legal nihilism that characterize Russian justice and are part of a greater pattern of feigned rapprochement.

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Lantos Foundation Statement - Mikhail Khodorkovsky Is a Free Man

Today Mikhail Khodorkovsky is a free man. He is free not only in the narrow sense of having been freed from illegitimate imprisonment. He possesses the deeper freedom that comes from having met the test of conscience and courage. This deeper freedom comes when someone faces unjust persecution at the hands of a corrupt judiciary and authoritarian state and nonetheless maintains their integrity and principles. Like other prisoners of conscience before him -  men like Natan Sharansky and Nelson Mandela - Mikhail has shown a deep determination to fight for a more just and democratic world. Furthermore, he has been willing to pay a high personal price for his ideals. Mr. Khodorkovsky’s demonstration of character and determination has won the respect of his fellow Russians and millions of others around the world.

Statement on Mikhail Khodorkovsky Pardon

We are thrilled by the news this morning that Mikhail Khodorkovsky could shortly be pardoned and freed after 10 years of unjust incarceration. The Lantos Foundation has been actively protesting his political prosecution, rigged conviction, and continued incarceration throughout this shameful miscarriage of justice. We also welcome the fast track progress of an amnesty bill in the Russian Duma that could lead to the release of the young women of Pussy Riot and the lifting of charges against the Green Peace activists. These are all positive steps and we hope they are the harbinger of more reforms to come.

The announcement this morning indicated that Mr. Khodorkovsky would be released soon. We are cautiously optimistic, but we cannot celebrate this progress, until the deeds match the words. We hope that before the Holidays Mikhail is safely reunited with his loving family and amnesty is granted to the many other political prisoners in Russia.

As the world’s eyes turn to Russia for the upcoming Sochi Olympics, we hope that these steps towards reform and compassion will prove to be more than short-lived public relations gestures. Our hope for the people of Russia is that these actions represent a genuine desire to return to greater democracy and to build a society where the rule of law is respected, robust civil society is celebrated, and people are free to express themselves.

In this holy season, the freeing of Mikhail Khodorkovsky gives many of us cause to celebrate and to hope for a coming year with greater peace and goodwill towards all people.

Statement on President Obama Questioning President Putin on the Fate of Holocaust Hero, Raoul Wallenberg

The Wallenberg Family’s announcement that President Obama has agreed to raise the question of Raoul Wallenberg’s fate with Russian President Putin is welcome news to the Lantos Family and to the untold thousands who were rescued due to his heroism during World War II. Without Wallenberg’s extraordinary efforts, neither of my parents would have survived the Holocaust. They both dedicated their lives to seeking his freedom from the Russian gulag and, subsequently, to honoring Raoul’s memory and emulating his commitment to human rights. In fact, my mother, Mrs. Annette Lantos first brought up Wallenberg’s fate with another American President, Jimmy Carter, during a public radio call-in show in the 1970s. My father’s first act as a newly elected member of Congress was to introduce legislation which made Raoul Wallenberg an honorary American citizen - only the second individual so honored in our nation’s history. Today the Lantos Foundation continues their commitment to this remarkable humanitarian and diplomat by working to preserve Raoul Wallenberg’s memory and his rightful place in history as one of the greatest heroes of the Holocaust.

We are gratified by this news that the US government is going to reengage on Wallenberg’s fate after he disappeared in the Russian Gulag in 1945. The Wallenberg family richly deserves the answers they have been waiting nearly 70 years to hear.

Returning to the Magnitsky Crime Scene

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/returning-to-the-magnitsky-crime-scene/484124.html

Lantos Foundation Statement - Posthumous Conviction of Sergei Magnitsky

Following the announcement that a Moscow Court posthumously convicted Sergei Magnitsky yesterday, Lantos Foundation President Katrina Lantos Swett issued the following statement: 

“The absurd posthumous conviction of Sergei Magnitsky by a thoroughly corrupt Russian judicial system represents a new low in the annals of Putin’s misrule of Russia. Sergei Magnitsky is hailed around the world as a brave and idealistic lawyer who exposed massive tax fraud on the part of corrupt Russian officials. He paid for this disclosure with his life and the pathetic attempt by these guilty officials to implicate Magnitsky in their crimes would be laughable if it weren’t so tragic. Thankfully, Sergei Magnitsky’s former client Bill Browder, who was also falsely convicted in absentia, remains free and has dedicated himself to exposing the crimes of Putin and his henchmen. History will not be kind to Putin and his corrupt cronies who have tried to besmirch the name of a fallen hero. The good news is they have already failed and Sergei Magnitsky’s proud legacy of integrity and idealism will continue to shine brighter with each passing year.”

A Message of Solidarity to Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Today is the 50th birthday of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and tragically, once again, he will spend this day in a Russian prison. It has been nearly 10 years since Mr. Khodorkovsky was unjustly imprisoned for the “crime” of daring to challenge the corruption and authoritarianism of Vladimir Putin. During the past decade, the dangerous and criminal nature of Putin’s regime has been unmasked for the entire world to see. From the murder of the crusading lawyer Sergei Magnitsky while in official custody, to the stolen Duma elections of 2011, to the harassment and persecution of civil society organizations dedicated to human rights and democracy, to the wholesale corruption of the legal system, it is clear that democracy and basic human rights are scarce commodities in Putin’s Russia. 

Millions of people now recognize Mikhail Khodorkovsky as a man who had the foresight to see what was happening to his country and the courage to try and stop it. It is vital that people of goodwill stand in solidarity with Mikhail on this important day. He has spent 10 long years languishing in prison but is due to be released in October of 2014. We call upon governments and citizens around the world to demand that the Russian government honor his release date and set this brave man free. Through letters, calls, social media, and public demonstrations we must make it clear to Putin that the world is watching. 

Lantos Foundation president Katrina Lantos Swett said, "Mikhail Khodorkovsky was willing to stand up for Russian democracy and freedom and has paid a very heavy price for his courage. Now it is time for those who support these values to stand up for him."

Lantos Foundation Urges Interpol to Reject Russia's Latest Political Witch-Hunt

CONCORD, NH – The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice has sent a letter petitioning Interpol to reject Russia’s request to issue an All-Points Bulletin to locate Mr. William Browder, the CEO of Hermitage Capital Management. The Russian Government has been pursuing Mr. Browder on tax evasion charges, but it is widely believed that his pursuit is related to his work calling for justice for his slain former employee Sergei Magnitsky, who is currently the subject of an outrageous posthumous trial in Russia. Interpol’s Commission for the Control of Files will consider the request at its next scheduled meeting beginning on May 23rd.

Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation, stated:

“We strongly urge Interpol not to become embroiled in Russia’s latest attempt to make a mockery of international justice. Bill Browder deserves praise, not condemnation, for the work he has done with the Sergei Magnitsky Act here in the US and other attempts to gain justice for his slain friend. Interpol must not play into Putin’s hands by acquiescing to an APB that would make them accessories to an outrageous abuse of justice and put a respected human rights champion at risk of his life should he fall into the corrupt and violent hands of Russia’s Interior Ministry.”