MOSCOW, Jan 31, 2008 (AFP) - The head of the prison where Vasily Aleksaniyan, a former manager of bankrupt Russian petrol group Yukos who has AIDS, is serving time, has asked for him be transferred to a hospital for care.
Fikret Tagyev, head of Matroskaya Tishina prison, "sent a document to the tribunal asking for authorisation to send Aleksaniyan to a special clinic", Yelena Lvova, Aleksaniyan's lawyer, wrote in a letter, according to Interfax agency Thursday.
Aleksaniyan, the 35-year-old former vice-president of Yukos, has been in jail since 2006 for alleged embezzlement. The defense has asked in vain that he be transferred to a hospital.
Tagyev also sollicited former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev to the same effect.
Independent Russian journalist Zoya Svetova also claims to have sent a letter to Gorbachev asking him to step in with President Vladimir Putin.
"Power works like this in Russia so that the decision on the case of such and such a person can only be made by President Vladimir Putin. And Mikhail Sergeyevich (Gorbachev) is one of the few people in this country who can call Putin," said Svetova on a radio programme.
The ex-CEO of Yukos, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, serving time in Siberia, started a hunger strike Tuesday in support of Aleksaniyan.
080131
AF080145
Copyright ©AFP 2008. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP photos or materials. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP stories, photos or graphics. http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Gill Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Quest Diagnostics, Roche and Trimeris, and donations from users like you.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. This article first appeared in 2008. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2008. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.