Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the jailed Russian oil tycoon, is to stay behind bars until 2017 after a court in Moscow issued its maximum possible punishment on charges of theft and money laundering on Thursday, in a trial widely condemned as a farce.
Judge Viktor Danilkin sentenced Khodorkovsky (47) and his business partner, Platon Lebedev, 54, to 14 years in a penal colony, including time already served, meaning the pair will not be free for seven more years. The two men smiled ironically on hearing the sentence, while Khodorkovsky’s mother called out “Damn you and your descendants!” to Danilkin, according to people in the room.
The businessmen were found guilty earlier this week, in a verdict that drew criticism from around the world. Critics say Vladimir Putin, the former president who is now prime minister, ordered the legal charge against Khodorkovksy because he was creating a political power base that threatened parties supporting the Kremlin. The oil magnate was first arrested on a Siberian runway in 2003, and sentenced to eight years in jail for fraud and tax evasion in 2005. A second trial began last year.
Speaking outside Khamovniki district court, Yury Shmidt, one of Khodorkovksy’s lawyers, said: “This an outrageous sentence which is completely without justice. It was issued under pressure from the executors of power, at the head of which stands Mr Putin.”
‘Retrograde step’
William Hague, the foreign secretary, expressed disquiet at the verdict. He said: “The UK calls on Russia to respect the principles of justice and apply the rule of law in a non-discriminatory and proportional way. In the absence of this, the UK and much of the international community will regard such a trial as a retrograde step.”
Earlier German chancellor Angela Merkel said she was “disappointed” at the verdict and political motives seemed to have “played a role in these proceedings”.
The sentence dashed hopes that Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s president, might press behind the scenes for a more lenient sentence. “If the president is serious when he speaks about political modernisation and sincerely believes in such, he must interfere because this sentence nullifies every word the president has said on the subject before,” said Sergei Mitrokhin, leader of the Yabloko party.
Khodorkovsky grew up in a modest Moscow family and was among the first wave of oligarchs — politically connected businessmen who made their fortunes during Russia’s turbulent first decade after the Soviet collapse.
Like many entrepreneurs of the time he built up his fortune through a series of opaque privatisations, later transforming his Yukos oil company into one of the most transparent and efficient in the country. But he fell out with Putin over his support for liberal parties, and his desire to promote privately funded oil pipelines.
‘Criminal reprisal’
Vadim Klyuvgant, Khodorkovsky’s lead lawyer, called the verdict and sentence a “criminal reprisal” and promised to appeal. He also read out a cryptic note from his client to reporters outside the court. “Platon Leonidovich [Lebedev] and I have shown by our example: don’t hope to find a defence in the courts from the lawlessness of bureaucrats,” Khodorkovsky wrote, adding: “Churov’s rule is alive and well.” Vladimir Churov is the chairperson of Russia’s central election commission who once reportedly said: “Churov’s first rule is that Putin is always right.”
The sentence was not unexpected. Khodorkovsky’s mother, Marina (77) had said: “I get the impression the judge was put under a great deal of pressure. I don’t think there will be a soft sentence. Medvedev can’t change anything. He’s like a little boy whom Putin tells what to do.”Earlier this week Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said the guilty verdict raised “serious questions about the rule of law being overshadowed by political considerations”.
Dmitry Furman, one of Russia’s leading political scientists, said the sentence was “terrible and cruel”.
“This case completely divided society,” he said. “Instead of examining the real problems which it springs from — the privatisations of the 1990s and the appearance of enormous fortunes — Putin, through personal enmity, decided to persecute one person.
“When the liberals and the west began to criticise this and make Khodorkovsky into a martyr, Putin wanted to show that he would not bow to pressure. It became a matter of self esteem.”
Furman added: “For millions of Russians Khodorkovsky is really a thief. But imprisoning this one man will do nothing to increase their trust in the authorities.” – guardian.co.uk