“We at HDS have naturally been concerned about the case of Mr. Okhotin since we learned of it and have tried to work through the appropriate channels to get more information about his situation and to urge that our government be active in the case to ensure that Mr. Okhotin not be treated unfairly or wrongly subjected to legal action in Russia,” Graham writes in an e-mail.
And McDowell says she prepared a packet on Okhotin’s detainment which Graham brought with him to a June 13 meeting with University President Lawrence H. Summers, though she says she does not know if Summers and Graham in fact discussed Okhotin during that meeting.
McDowell also says she more recently planned to supply Summers with drafts of the new letters sent by Graham.
“We intended to send them over to the President’s office and say...‘Would Larry like to use some of his contacts,’” she says. “But up until this point we haven’t felt anything like that was appropriate.”
Summers declined to comment for this story.
McDowell says that all communications by Graham and other Harvard officials represented their opinions as individuals only.
“Since [Okhotin] was not on University business and he was on leave, there’s only so much that institutionally can be done,” she says.
A Harvard spokesperson echoes this, saying that “there is nothing the University can do.”
No Special Treatment
Now that the court date has been set—and he does not plan to take the opportunity to flee—Okhotin says he has no choice but to continue pursuing such campaigns and to fight his case when it comes to trial.
“Nobody in the past took this issue to principle and said, ‘No, I’m not going to pay,’” he says. “This might actually teach customs a lesson, that there are people who aren’t willing to make deals under the table.”
And Okhotin sees his case in very simple moral terms, despite the complexity of the Russian government’s investigation and prosecution.
“I’m not asking for any special treatment,” he says. “I’m just saying that they should be following at least their own laws.”
—Staff writer Simon W. Vozick-Levinson can be reached at vozick@fas.harvard.edu.