LONDON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Omnia Strategy
LLP, a part of the legal team representing Marsha Lazareva, a prominent member of the
international business community, today filed a petition of
complaint with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention (WGAD), requesting an investigation into the detention
and treatment of the executive, who has been imprisoned in
Kuwait for over a year on false
charges.
Lazareva's case is drawing international concern about the
treatment of foreign investors in Kuwait and has been raised with Kuwait by prominent political figures in the
UK, the US and Russia. Ms.
Lazareva is one of the Gulf's leading corporate figures. She is a
Russian citizen and mother to a young son who is a US citizen.
The complaint was filed by an international legal team, led by
prominent human rights attorney Cherie
Blair CBE, QC, on behalf of Marsha
Lazareva, vice chair and managing director of KGL
Investments. It cites Kuwait's
violations of fair trial protections and of protections against
arbitrary detention under the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR).
The UN working group will await correspondence from Kuwait before rendering an opinion, but the
group could recommend Ms. Lazareva's release and that Kuwait award compensation to her.
Ms. Lazareva was detained in November
2017 and faced false allegations of embezzlement in the
course of her work. She was initially released in February 2018 as part of a record-setting
$30 million bail arrangement, only to
be convicted in May 2018 without
being allowed to present a defense, and based on evidence since
found to have been fabricated. She was convicted and sentenced to
10 years in prison.
After serving a year in jail, on May
5, the Kuwait Appeals Court recognized that Ms. Lazareva was
unlawfully convicted in violation of due process and voided her
conviction and sentence. However, rather than releasing her from
her wrongful confinement, Ms. Lazareva continues to be arbitrarily
detained pending the conclusion of her appeal because the court,
without explanation or justification, is requiring a further USD
$65 million in bail.
The UN complaint is filed as international concern grows about
the ongoing imprisonment of Ms Lazareva and how this reflects on
the foreign investment climate in Kuwait.
Ms. Lazareva has filed a separate investment arbitration
complaint against Kuwait in
connection with her imprisonment and arbitrary treatment by
Kuwait. The complaint comes at a
time when Kuwait is poised to take
over as President of the UN Security Council and as the Amir is
honored by the World Bank in recognition for his support for global
economic and social development causes.
Marsha's case has also been raised by Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov and separately by
Tatyana Yumasheva, daughter of former President Boris Yeltsin, and Vladimir Platonov, President of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
"This is another example of a dangerous trend of criminalizing
people who are conducting legitimate business activities," said
Blair. The imprisonment of a prominent businesswoman, who is an
important example of women's leadership in business in the
Middle East, is a great
concern."
"As a member of the family that helped liberate Kuwait, I would hate to see U.S.-Kuwaiti
relations damaged by this incident. But there are forces within and
outside the government that are creating this horrible situation,"
said Neil Bush, son of former US
President George Bush, who is also
part of the team working on Lazareva's behalf.
The complaint was filed by Cherie
Blair of Omnia Strategy LLP and Jennifer Robinson of Doughty Street Chambers in
London, working as part of an
international legal team assembled by Crowell & Moring in
Washington DC.
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SOURCE Omnia Strategy LLP