quinta-feira, 30 de dezembro de 2010

Mikhail Khodorkovsky gets six more years in Russia jail


Imprisoned former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, has been sentenced to six more years in jail for fraud.
With his current sentence due to expire next year, Khodorkovsky, 47, now faces imprisonment until 2017.
He could "only be reformed by being isolated from society", the judge said.
The US and Germany deplored the verdict, but Russia has previously dismissed their criticism.
After the sentencing, US state department spokesman Mark Toner said Washington was concerned by the apparent "abusive use of the legal system for improper ends, particularly now that Khodorkovsky and Lebedev have been sentenced to the maximum penalty".
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was "disappointed" by the sentence.
"The impression remains that political motives played a role in the trial," she said in a statement.
"This contradicts the intentions frequently declared by Russia to pursue the path toward a state based entirely on the rule of law". BBC News