Spotlight on Greek justice

Washington Post: There is nothing new about the sad spectacle of Russian President Vladimir Putin using Russia's courts and prosecutors to smite his enemies, reward his friends and further his political ends. Since becoming president in 2000, Putin and his associates have used various legal pretexts to bring formerly independent media under control and to tame business executives who displease him. These maneuverings have made a mockery of his early promise of a "dictatorship of law," and they bode ill for Russia's hopes to attract foreign investors, who prefer predictability to political caprice.
Until now, though, Putin has not had much luck in persuading European democracies to play along with his legal shenanigans. Now he is trying again, this time in Greece. The victim of Putin's latest squeeze play is, once again, Vladimir Gusinsky, a onetime media tycoon already forced into exile. Gusinsky originally angered the Kremlin by allowing the television network he owned, NTV, to present honest coverage of Russia's war in Chechnya. Aided by Gusinsky's own financial miscalculations, Putin used the courts to deliver NTV into the hands of a government-controlled natural gas monopoly, which ensured docile news coverage.
Rejected, till now
During that wresting process, Russia tried to persuade foreign governments to play along by extraditing Gusinsky back to Moscow on fraud charges. The governments of France and Britain rejected the attempt; the headquarters of Interpol concluded that "the case has a predominant political character." Spain was more cooperative, arresting Gusinsky in December 2000 at Russia's request. But after considering "certain noteworthy and peculiar circumstances" of Russia's ostensible case, a Spanish court likewise declined to turn him over.
Now it is Greece's turn. Its government arrested Gusinsky at Russia's request on Aug. 21, when he arrived for a holiday. He has been released on bail but ordered to remain in the country while Russian prosecutors reportedly prepare new documents to press for his extradition. Putin may want to show potential enemies that they will never be safe from his vengeance, but Greece will only damage its own reputation if it serves as accomplice.