Former Russian Oil Magnate Khodorkovsky Found Guilty (Video)

Russian Court Repeats Verdict for Oil Company CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky (NTD Television)

Despite cries of corruption from Amnesty International and the U.S. government, a Moscow court on Monday found former Russian oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky guilty of stealing fuel from his own companies and money laundering during the period from 1998–2003.

The court did not announce a particular term for his imprisonment. The decision is the result of the second trial against him and his partner, Platon Lebedev, initiated in 2006.

The case against Khodorkovsky has been among the highest-profile issues in Russia over the last several years. It has been characteristic of Russia’s image as an authoritarian state, where politics, the judicial system, and the criminal underworld are closely tied.

Before his arrest, Khodorkovsky’s business and political ambitions were growing. Then-President Vladimir Putin is believed to have viewed this as interfering with his plans to keep hold of the country with a strong hand.

Human rights groups have observed and highlighted numerous violations of legal proceedings during both of the hearings over the last several years.

“All evidence points to a pattern of political motives and interference having obstructed justice in this case. The Moscow City Court must overturn this unfair conviction, to restore faith in the independence of Russia’s legal system,” said Nicola Duckworth, Amnesty International’s director for Europe and Central Asia in a statement.

Neither Khodorkovsky’s lawyers nor he himself expected the hoped-for decision from the Russian juridical system, as the court throughout these years of legal hearings had not admitted evidence in favor of Khodorkovsky, and neither had it allowed witnesses or experts to be heard. The defense was also not allowed to cross-examine witnesses.

“This legal proceeding is a farce of justice. The guilt is false though, but I am afraid that a term will be real,” Vadim Klyuvgant, Khodorkovsky’s lead trial lawyer, told reporters after the court hearing.

Following Monday’s court hearing, Khodorkovsky’s lawyers published a statement on his website in which they said, “The Russian juridical system is completely dependent on corrupt officials who continue regarding Khodorkovsky as a threat and seek to interfere with his release.

“If a court were free and independent in making decisions, it could not make any other verdicts, but absolvent.”

Prior to his arrest, Khodorkovsky ran the Yukos Oil Company, which was one of the largest and most successful companies in Russia. Lebedev was his partner and the second largest stakeholder in the company.

Khodorkovsky and Lebedev first were arrested in 2003 on charges of fraud and tax evasion. Both were sentenced to eight years in prison in 2005.

At the time, Putin had already begun a campaign to suppress independent media.

The second trial was perceived as being launched due to the Russian government’s fear that Khodorkovsky’s release would begin the wane of Putin’s regime. During that trial, the Russian prosecutor’s office demanded a six-year extension of the initial sentence.

The United States has criticized Russia’s convicting Khodorkovsky in the second trial, saying that the charges of embezzlement raise serious questions and are politically motivated.

“This and similar cases have a negative impact on Russia’s reputation for fulfilling its international human rights obligations and improving its investment climate,” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a statement.

Khodorkovsky’s case also proves contrary to what Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has maintained about the rule of law, reconstructing the country’s criminal system, and tackling widespread corruption in the state machine.