The human rights organization Amnesty International has declared jailed oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his former business partner Platon Lebedev to be prisoners of conscience, Kasparov.ru reports.

The announcement came the same day as a Moscow City Court ruling to uphold a December 2010 verdict that extended the pair’s current prison sentences through 2017, reducing them slightly for a 2016 release. The case is recognized internationally as politically motivated, specifically at the behest of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

“For several years now these two men have been trapped in a judicial vortex that answers to political not legal considerations,” said a press release from Amnesty International on Tuesday. “Today’s verdict makes it clear that Russia’s lower courts are unable, or unwilling, to deliver justice in their cases.”

Just last week, the organization said that Khodorkovsky and Lebedev could not be considered prisoners of conscience, telling Radio Free Liberty/Radio Europe that “a prisoner of conscience is a person who was sentenced for his or her views or beliefs,” while “anyone who might be involved in wrongdoing or even crimes, but whose case was launched only for political reasons, can be called a political prisoner but not a prisoner of conscience.”

However, Tuesday’s statement indicates that the new verdict has definitively pushed Amnesty over the fence.

“The failure of the appeal court to address the fundamental flaws in the second trial and the fact that Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev have already spent eight years in jail on barely distinguishable charges, points to the conclusion that their second convictions have been sought for political reasons relating purely to who they are,” said Nicola Duckworth, director of Amnesty International’s Europe and Central Asia Program.

Vadim Klyuvgant, a lawyer for the prisoners, said that “this is a somewhat belated statement of a perfectly obvious fact – about seven years so.”

Harsh criticism of the upheld ruling has resounded throughout Europe and the United States. In a statement released on Tuesday, European Union Foreign Affairs Chief Catherine Ashton said she was “troubled by allegations of numerous violations in due process which reflect systemic problems within the Russian judiciary. The Khodorkovsky and Lebedev case has become emblematic for the lack of confidence in how the law is applied in Russia today.”

European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek was also appalled at the behavior of the Russian judicial system. “This case was marred with alleged violations of due process and fair trial from the very start. It shows unfortunately that there is still a very long path for Russia to take to improve its rule of law and protection of human rights,” he said.

Russia’s Public Chamber and Ministry of International Affairs both criticized Amnesty International’s about-face as “unexpected” and “one-sided and politicized,” respectively.

On Wednesday, the European Court of Human Rights announced that their own ruling on a complaint filed by Khodorkovsky would be issued on May 31. A press release on the court’s website outlined a list of the prisoner’s complaints against the Russian government:

Relying on Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment), Mr Khodorkovskiy complains in particular about the conditions in the remand prisons where he has been detained and in the courtroom during his trial. He also complains under Article 5 (right to liberty and security) about the unlawfulness of his arrest and subsequent detention pending investigation and trial, excessive length of the detention and unfairness of the detention proceedings. Lastly, he alleges that the criminal proceedings against him are politically motivated, in breach of Article 18 (limitation on use of restrictions on rights).

At least 60 protestors were detained by police on New Year’s Eve night in Moscow for participating in a rally promoting the freedom of assembly, Kasparov.ru reports.

Approximately 400 people attended the rally, which was organized by leaders of the Other Russia opposition coalition.

Eyewitnesses claim that police acted with particular brutality when arresting journalists and photographers.

Among those detained was 82-year old Lyudmila Alexeyeva, a former Soviet dissident who now heads the influential rights organization Moscow Helsinki Group.

Ilya Yashin, a rights leader and member of the Solidarity movement, claims he was detained immediately upon appearing at the rally and denied the reason for his arrest.

Members of the pro-Kremlin youth organization Young Russia attempted to provoke protestors early in the evening by scattering flyers printed with the phrase “Bad Santa will not pass!” while a young man dressed in a Santa Claus costume offered flights “home” to America and large sums of money.

All those detained at the protest were released the same evening at approximately 10 pm. Moscow Chief of Police Vladimir Kolokoltsev had allegedly ordered all the protestors to be released by 9:30 that night.

The actions of the Moscow police drew widespread scorn from the United States, the European Union, and domestic and international human rights groups.

In a press release from United States National Security Council Spokesman Mike Hammer late on December 31, the White House expressed its dismay at the attempts of authorities to prevent citizens from peacefully protesting: “In particular, the United States notes with concern the detention of protestors, including prominent human rights defender Lyudmila Alexeyeva, and reports of their mistreatment by authorities while in custody.”

The release went on to mark the importance of freedom of speech and assembly, adding that “The United States stands with those dedicated to promoting these human rights.”

European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek expressed similar dismay concerning the detention of Alexeyeva.

“I am deeply astounded, that this highly regarded 82-year old woman spent New Year’s Eve night under arrest,” he stated.

Buzek noted that Alexeyeva had been among recipients in 2009 of the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for her work in human rights. He added that she had been asked at a press conference following the ceremony whether she was afraid to return to Russia.

“The actions of the police in Moscow gave a very disconcerting answer,” Buzek concluded: “Human rights activists in Russia still cannot freely hold demonstrations.”

The New Year’s Eve rally was part of a series of demonstrations held by the Other Russia coalition on Moscow’s central Triumfalnaya Square on every month with a 31st day, in reference to the 31st article of the Russian Constitution guaranteeing freedom of assembly. The previous four protests in October, August, July, and May ended when police began detaining numerous activists.

Photographs from New Year’s Eve Rally

Photographs sourced from LiveJournal users Yashin, Drugoi and Zyalt, and Grani.ru.