Vasily Aleksanyan ­ dying behind bars

Vasily Aleksanyan (born 15 December 1971) was arrested in April 2006 just 3 days after his appointment as Executive Vice President of Russian oil company Yukos. Forced to leave his then 4 year old son, Georgy, he was imprisoned on fabricated charges of embezzlement and money laundering. Soon after, a forensic medical examination revealed that Vasily had contracted HIV/AIDS, and so his continuing imprisonment was legally conditional on the immediate start of antiretroviral therapy. Nearly two years later, Vasily has been denied life-saving medical treatment and is still behind bars; his condition is now critical. Russia has ignored repeated injunctions from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) requiring that Vasily be hospitalized in a specialist civilian AIDS clinic.

The European Convention

The European Convention for Human Rights was drawn up within the Council of Europe and came into force in 1953. The Convention established the European Court of Human Rights, to which any person can appeal if they feel their rights under the Convention have been violated by a State party. The decisions of the Court are legally binding, and the Court can award damages. The European Convention remains the only international human rights agreement, which gives such a high degree of protection to the individual.

Russia joined the Council of Europe in 1996, becoming a signatory to the European Convention.

Timeline of Abuse - Legal Factsheet

16/02/2008
After 8 days in the hospital Vasily is finally allowed access to his lawyer. He has been handcuffed to his bed for the entire week, and is under 24-hour watch by a surveillance camera and a guard posted right inside his room. He has only been allowed access to a shower twice in this time, despite recommendations of doctors to the contrary.

08/02/2008
Vasily is taken to City Clinical Hospital no. 60, a hospital for pensioners, and placed in a room with barred windows. Neither his lawyers nor his family are informed of his whereabouts.

07/02/2008
Drew Holiner issued the following statement: “Despite declarations of the Federal Penitentiary Service to the media that a decision has been taken to transfer Vasily for inpatient treatment in accordance with the recommendations of doctors, no-one has informed Vasily or his lawyers of any such move. Moreover, I can confirm that as of this afternoon Vasily has neither been transferred from the prison nor has he been visited by any doctor today.”

05/02/2008
05/02/2008 Vasily’s court trial begins, although it is suspended the following day due to his ill health.

04/02/2008
Vasily is diagnosed with lymphatic cancer.

01/02/2008
Trial date set for the 5th of February at Simonov Court in Moscow

30/01/2008
Vasily appears in Moscow's Simonovskiy Court for a pre-trial hearing in his criminal case. The court refuses to grant his application to be transferred to hospital for treatment, despite the fact that his request is supported by the head of the remand prison. After seven hours he becomes so ill that an ambulance is called to the courthouse. Emergency doctors declare him unfit to continue participating in the hearing and the court orders a recess until the following day.

28/01/2008
The ECHR again confirms that Vasily must be moved immediately for inpatient treatment to the specialist AIDS clinic. It also issues a series of questions requiring a response from Russia by 7 March 2008. It indicates to the parties that it will make an immediate decision on merits after receiving final submissions from Vasily and the Russian Government. It informs the Russian Government that no extension of the 7 March 2008 deadline will be granted.

22/01/2008
Vasily appears before the Russian Supreme court via video link from prison in an appeal against the eighth extension of his pre-trial detention. He details his deteriorating health and discloses that he has been under pressure to give false testimony against other Yukos officials, including Mikhail Khodorkovsky, since December 2006: “I will not commit perjury. I won't lie. I shall not incriminate innocent people. So I refused. And no matter how awful my condition is today because I would not do so, I cannot buy back my life in such a way now, so help me God.” Vasily's defence lawyers request that he be released on bail so that he can receive life saving treatment. The appeal is refused.

21/01/2008
Russia fails to comply with the deadline for the submission of a bipartisan medical report. Vasily's appointed doctors supply an opinion to ECHR based on his latest medical data of 20 December 2007. They conclude that Vasily “remains desperately ill and at imminent risk of dying. Without appropriate treatment his prognosis is bleak.”

14/01/2008
see previous entry

10/01/2008
Vasily responds to the Russian Government's allegations that he is refusing antiretroviral therapy as “lies,” and maintains that he has never been provided with the treatment during his entire period of detention. He also notes that his cell in the 'medical centre' of the remand prison is wholly unsanitary and there is rampant infectious disease, including the presence of a rat in his cell.

04/01/2008
Russia informs the ECHR that it considers the creation of a medical commission “unnecessary.” Russia also asserts that Vasily is refusing treatment and that he can be treated at the remand prison without any need for transfer to a civilian AIDS clinic.

27/12/2007
Vasily issues a public statement concerning the Russian authorities withholding treatment and placing pressure on him to give false testimony against other Yukos officials in exchange for release for treatment.

25/12/2007
Vasily's lawyers submit their list of proposed doctors for the medical commission to the Russian Government.

21/12/2007
The ECHR once again notes that there has been no compliance with the injunction, and warns Russia that if Vasily's health deteriorates or he dies in prison, it may find Russia responsible for a violation of Vasily's right to life and to not be subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment. The ECHR extends the injunctive relief and requires the creation of a bipartisan medical commission of doctors appointed by Vasily and the Russian Government to assess his medical condition and prepare a plan for his treatment. Russia is to report on implementation by 27 December 2007 and to produce the report of the medical commission by 21 January 2008.

20/12/2007
Russia again tells ECHR it needs “additional time” to resolve the question of placing Vasily in a specialist AIDS clinic. As to Vasily's statement that he had been pressured to confess and give false testimony in exchange for release, Russia states that the matter has been investigated by the Procuracy and found to be “unsubstantiated.” No documents in support of the alleged investigation are provided, and no person ever contacted Vasily regarding such an investigation. The same day doctors at the Moscow AIDS Centre examine Vasily, and express strong suspicion that he has contracted tuberculosis (Vasily is being held in the infectious diseases section of the remand prison, which also houses dozens of tuberculosis patients).

12/12/2007
Prison officials approach Vasily, without notifying his lawyers, and tell him that he will be transferred to the Moscow AIDS Centre on 13 December. He is then asked to sign a statement saying he has no complaints against the prison. Vasily says he cannot do so without the advice of his lawyers, and he is not transferred.

11/12/2007
Russia fails to meet the 10 December 2007 deadline, and again says it needs “additional time.” The ECHR asks Russia what efforts have in fact been undertaken to secure Vasily's transfer to a specialist civilian AIDS clinic. Russia does not reply.

05/12/2007
Russian authorities state that “additional time” is required to implement the ECHR injunction. The ECHR states that the interim measure must be implemented no later than 10 December 2007, and asks Russia to respond to Vasily's allegation that he is being pressured to confess and give false testimony in exchange for release for medical treatment.

01/12/2007
State investigators continue to pressure Vasily for false testimony.

28/11/2007
European Court of Human Rights grants interim measures under Rule 39, requesting Vasily's immediate in-patient treatment in a specialized AIDS hospital.

27/11/2007
A State Investigator tells Vasily that if he confesses to crimes and incriminates other Yukos executives, he will be released from jail and get medical treatment.

22/11/2007
Vasily seeks urgent interim measures from the European Court of Human Rights.

01/11/2007
Vasily is nearly blind and has contracted full-blown AIDS and a host of secondary diseases. He is denied treatment by specialist civilian doctors.

28/11/2006
Vasily is nearly blind and has contracted full-blown AIDS and a host of secondary diseases. He is denied treatment by specialist civilian doctors.

16/11/2006
Vasily appeals to the European Court of Human Rights, disclosing violations of the European Convention on Human Rights by the Russian Federation. Vasily is diagnosed HIV positive but denied access to treatment.

09/10/2006
Vasily's detention is extended until 2 March 2008, even though the maximum statutory time limit for pre-trial detention (12 months) expired in April 2007.

19/07/2006
Vasily's appeal is rejected. His period of detention is extended.

02/06/2006
Vasily's detention period is extended, despite his declining health and visual impairment exempting him from jail conditions. Vasily appeals again.

01/06/2006
Vasily's appeals against his detention, prosecution and random home searches are dismissed.

07/04/2006
Vasily's pre-trial detention is approved by the State, despite the lack of any evidence against him.

06/04/2006
The Russian State starts criminal proceedings against Vasily, on trumped-up charges of embezzlement and money laundering. Vasily is arrested and taken into custody. He is separated from his 4 year old son, Georgy, and his home and dachas are raided.

28/03/2006
Vasily is appointed chief liaison officer between Yukos and the State.

20/03/2006
Vasily is appointed executive vice-president of Yukos, but warned by State investigators to “stay far away” from the company.

01/02/2006
State investigators in Moscow interrogate and threaten high-ranking Yukos executives and personnel with imprisonment. Vasily Aleksanyan is among them.