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 today, 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."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/30/mikhail-khodorkovsky-jail-term:applause:
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