Yukos case against Russia begins at European court

[pampango]

Source: BBC

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has begun hearing a complaint from collapsed Russian oil company Yukos against the Russian government.

Yukos first faced allegations of tax fraud in 2002 and was ultimately liquidated in 2007. But the firm claims that it was "targeted" by the Russian authorities and illegally driven out of business.

Yukos representatives first filed the claim with the ECHR in 2004. They are seeking $98bn (£65bn) in compensation.

Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky was jailed for eight years in 2005 for tax evasion and other offences. On Tuesday, he went on trial again on new charges of embezzlement and money laundering. If found guilty, he could face a further 15 years in prison.



Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8549226.stm

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Good luck with enforcing an unfavorable decision in Russia. Here's an article from RIA Novosti describing new charges being brought against Khodorkovsky now that he has served 5 years of his 8 year sentence.

"Russian court extends pretrial detention of Khodorkovsky, Lebedev "

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100212/157859196.html

"A Moscow court ordered on Friday that Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev spend another three months in harsh pretrial detention rather than return to regular jail.

Khodorkovsky, 45, and Lebedev, 42, are already serving eight-year prison terms for tax evasion and fraud issued by a Moscow court in 2005 after a highly politicized trial seen by many in the West as part of a Kremlin drive to subdue politically ambitious business tycoons.

Both were moved in 2009 from prison in Siberia to Moscow's notorious Matrosskaya Tishina jail to face new charges of embezzling 350 million tons of oil. Since then, their stay in the pretrial detention center has been repeatedly prolonged despite complaints from their lawyers.

Russian officials have consistently denied any political motivation behind their convictions, but the fate of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev is still viewed by Russia-watchers abroad as an indicator of the state of Russia's judicial system."