opentrial.org - 1 in 6 Russian businessmen

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CASES & PLACES TO WATCH

The cases in Turkey of Omur Cagdas Ersoy (charged with belonging to a left-wing armed faction that no longer exists) and Cengiz Dogan (a Kurd, effectively charged with being in two places at the same time). As the government gets tougher, it now has imprisoned: 500 students for the alleged membership of terrorist groups, around 76 journalists, 47 lawyers and thousands of Kurd sympathisers.

Is Yulia Tymoshenko likely to receive a fair trial in Ukraine? Read more

Latest: The trials of medical staff from the Salmaniya Medical Complex in Manama, Bahrain, have been brought forward to 30th January. There are fears this is to thwart international monitoring by observers who arrive in March. Read more

Red Travel/Business Warning: Bali, Indonesia. Corrupt elements in the police and prosecution service, which concoct criminal cases and extort, remain a threat to business people & tourists. Here, from the island, are some classic examples of the dangers of legal system extortion and the tyranny of the corrupt.

Red Business Warning: The Economist reports that: "one in six businessmen in Russia has been prosecuted for an alleged economic crime over the past decade." Read more

Fair Trial

FAIR TRIAL

The basic criteria of this basic human right are:

PRE-TRIAL RIGHTS

1. The prohibition on arbitrary arrest and detention

2. The right to know the reasons for arrest

3. The right to legal counsel

4. The right to a prompt appearance before a judge to challenge the lawfulness of arrest and detention

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One in six businessmen in Russia has been prosecuted for an alleged economic crime

"The statistics are staggering: one in six businessmen in Russia has been prosecuted for an alleged economic crime over the past decade. Most of the cases have no plaintiff and the number of acquittals is close to zero, according to studies by Russia’s Centre of Legal and Economic Research. This means that the vast number of Russian businessmen in jail are victims of corrupt prosecutors, police and courts, which can expropriate a business with impunity.

"As Yegor Gaidar, a prominent liberal economist, warned in 1994, “The carcass of a bureaucratic system can become the carcass of a mafia system, depending on its goals.” By the time his book appeared in 2009 his warning had become reality. In the past few years this “monstrous hybrid” has started to extend its tentacles into every sphere of public life where money can be made. Examples of violence against businessmen abound. This adds up to a Soviet-style policy of negative selection, where the best and most active are suppressed or eliminated while parasitic bureaucrats and law enforcers are rewarded. What Stalin wrought by repression and extermination, today’s Russia achieves by corruption and state violence."

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