At the time of his arrest Khodorkovsky had begun to fund opposition parties, launched an anti government corruption crusade, and called for the privatization of some of the nations oil pipelines – initiatives that angered the Putin government.
Putin responded in the usual manner. Khodorkovsky was arrested in 2003, his oil company Yukos dismantled, and Khodorkovsky himself sentenced to eight years hard labour in Siberia.
As the time for his release approached, he was charged with new crimes, including embezzling 218 millions tonnes of oil from his own company. Quite a feat, for generally Siberia would be considered a distant location from which to pull off such machinations. Nevertheless, a second trial against Khodorkovsky was started in March 2009, and now the Russian court has found the man to be guilty - again.
The Communist party members defended the state's actions:
"Khodorkovsky is in jail because some oligarchs should be in jail: one has to show the new rules of the game," the pro-Kremlin member of parliament Sergei Markov said. Putin repeated this justification on Russian television on December 16. Khodorkovsky was "in jail" because "every thief should go to jail," he said, stating that his "crimes" had been "proved by the court”.
"Just look at the images of his second trial: he’s not broken, he’s dignified and stands with great elegance and courage,” said Cecile Vaissié, professor at the University of Rennes and specialist on Russia’s intellectual world. "Intellectuals, well-known writers, journalists and lawyers have stood up to denounce Putin's personal vendetta."
Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen, Barry.Amid the Western chorus of protests, the former oil tycoon has also attracted the attention of US President Barack Obama. Last July he said the "bizarre" new charges against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev came "years after their imprisonment and at a time when they could have been pardoned."
Indeed.For many observers, the verdict of the trial was a foregone conclusion – and one that calls into question the credibility of Russia’s legal system.
The tendency for governments to tilt the field and distort the courts to further their own power is a great evil. Sadly, we have the same tendencies here.
He seems very civil, polite and dresses nice.
ReplyDeleteWhat could be wrong?