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Yuri Schmidt
Defense Attorney
Yuri Schmidt is one of Russia's most prominent human rights lawyers. During his 45 year legal career, he has courageously fought for the legal rights of clients, challenging Soviet, and more recently Russian, courts to uphold basic legal principles. Among the many cases he has tried, Schmidt is best known for his successful defense of Aleksandr Nikitin, a research analyst charged with espionage and disclosure of state secrets resulting from work Nikitin carried out detailing the risks of radioactive pollution from Russias Northern Fleet. More recently, Schmidt successfully defended two journalists from the Perm region who were accused by the FSB (Federal Security Service) of divulging state secrets in an article published in 2003; Schmidt also recently represented the family of Sergei Yushenkov, a Member of the Russian Parliament who was murdered.
In October, 2003, Schmidt joined the Khodorkovsky legal defense team. In his view, the Khodorkovsky/Yukos case is similar to many other cases he has argued over his long legal career - it is a politically motivated prosecution designed to silence a perceived enemy of the State. Khodorkovsky, now in prison in Siberia, is currently awaiting trial on a second set of charges which Schmidt characterizes as without legal foundation.
In 1993, Schmidt was recognized by Human Rights Watch for his efforts in defending human rights in Russia. In 1997, he was named "Lawyer of the Year" and received "Femida", Russia's highest honor in jurisprudence. In 1999, Schmidt was honored by the International League of Human Rights for his work defending human and civil rights in Russia. In 1991, Schmidt formed the Russian Committee of Lawyers in Defense of Human Rights, a St. Petersburg based NGO.