Sen. John McCain delivered yesterday a lengthy speech in Senate on Khodorkovsky, Lebedev and US-Russian relations, journalist Daniel Halper said in a blog of the website The Weekly Standard. The full text of McCain's speech is also published on the same page.

McCain noted that during this period, the Senate is discussing the START-3, and expressed a desire in the coming days to speak on this important issue and make his own amendments.
 

"But today, I would like to speak about a different though related matter: the continued imprisonment of Mikhail Khordokovsky and his associate Platon Lebedev - and the imminent verdict by a Russian judge to likely extend that imprisonment", McCain said.

According to the senator, the announcement of verdict was postponed until December 27 because "the Russian government seems to be trying to bury some inconvenient news by issuing it two days after Christmas, and after we will probably be finished debating the possible ratification of a treaty with the Russian Federation".

McCain believes that the verdict will match with the phrase of Putin about Khodorkovsky: "a thief should sit in jail".

"The political fix has been in for years now on this case. Mr. Khordokovsky built one of the most successful companies in post-Soviet Russia, and while I am under no illusions that some of these gains may have been ill-gotten, the subsequent crimes committed against him by the Russian government have exceeded the boundaries of human decency, equal and lawful justice, and the God-given rights of man", McCain said.

According to McCain, when Mr. Khordokovsky became increasingly outspoken about the Russian government's abuses, he was arbitrarily arrested and detained under political charges, "his company was stolen from him by Russian authorities, and he was thrown in prison through a process that fell far short of the universal standards of due process".

When Khodorkovsky's sentence was drawing to a close, new charges were brought against him, "which were even more blatantly political than the previous ones: Mr. Khordokovsky was charged with stealing all of the oil of the very company that had been so egregiously stolen from him".

According to forecasts of McCain, Mr. Khordokovsky will likely face many more years of imprisonment, "which I fear is tantamount to a death sentence". "This case is a travesty of justice for one man, but it is also a revealing commentary on the nature of the Russian government today", the senator said.

McCain noted that the START-3 should be considered on its merits to the national security of U.S., but it is only reasonable to ask: "If Russian officials demonstrate such a blatant disregard for the rights and legal obligations owed to one of their own citizens, how will they treat us - and the legal obligations, be it this Treaty or any other, that they owe to us?", he said.

"What's worse, the sad case of Mikhail Khordokovsky now looks like one of more modest offenses of the corrupt officials ruling Russia today", said McCain referring to the article "Frost at the Core" in The Economist on Dec. 9, 2010, and the ratings of Transparency International and World Bank.

"Russians who want better for their country and dare to challenge the corrupt bureaucrats who govern it are often targeted with impunity", McCain said, referring to the case of Sergei Magnitsky and the beating of Oleg Kashin.

He asked to include Kashin's article in the Sunday issue of The New York Times in the minutes of the meeting of the Senate. McCain also referred to another article in The New York Times on the fate of Mikhail Beketov. He stressed that nobody has been charged or held responsible in cases of beatings of Kashin and Beketov. "The same article mentions another journalist, Pyotr Lipatov, who was attacked while covering an opposition rally", McCain said. Russia's beleaguered political opposition unfortunately fairs no better than its journalists, he added.

"Considering that this is how Russian officials treat their fellow citizens, it is not hard to see a profound connection between the Russian government's authoritarian actions at home and its aggressive behavior abroad. The most glaring example of this remains Georgia", McCain said, accusing Russia of "the occupation of 20% of the territory of Georgia".

"When we consider the various crimes and abuses of this Russian government, Mr. President, it is hard to believe that this government shares our deepest values", McCain said.

He stressed that this does not mean that the U.S. should not work with Russia.

"What it does mean is that we need a national debate about the real nature of this Russian government, about what kind of relationship is possible with this government, and about the place that Russia should realistically occupy in U.S. foreign policy. The Senate's consideration of a new START Treaty offers a chance to have this debate, as does Russia's accession to the WTO".

McCain called for a greater sense of realism about Russia, but he stressed: "I am an optimist, even about Russia". He quoted the last word of Khodorkovsky at the trial and asked to include them in the minutes of the meeting.

"The fact that there are still men and women of such spirit in Russia is a reason for hope", concluded McCain, expressing confidence in future Russians who will eventually become leaders of their country: "Equal justice can be delayed, and human dignity can be denied, but not forever".