06/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - 23 members of the European Parliament, belonging to various political groups, wrote to the Russian authorities on Wednesday 6 February, calling upon them to intervene in the case of Vassili Aleksanian, whose health has deteriorated seriously since he was imprisoned in April 2006. The former deputy president of the oil group Ioukos has for several months been calling in vain to be transferred to a civil hospital so that he can receive the care he needs. The refusal to provide him with medical treatment may lead to his death and this behaviour is a serious violation of the fundamental right to life, the letter reads. It was by initiative of the German MEP Milan Horáèek, a member of the Greens/EFA group, that this open letter has been sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin. (L.C.)