Moscow (CNN) -- Russia on Tuesday responded to international criticism over the conviction of a former Russian oil tycoon and his business partner on corruption charges.
A judge in Moscow found Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former head of the Yukos oil company, and his partner guilty Monday.
The United States in particular criticized the court proceeding, calling it a case of selective prosecution.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement dismissing Western criticism over the verdict.
"The attempts at pressuring the court are unacceptable," the statement said, adding that the case falls wholly within the Russian legal system.
Money laundering and tax evasion charges would similarly be criminally prosecuted in any other country, the statement said.
"Allegations about some kind of selective prosecution in Russia are groundless. Russian courts deal with thousands of cases where entrepreneurs are prosecuted," the statement said.
It concluded, "We are expecting that everyone will mind their own business, both at home and in the international arena".
Khodorkovsky's son, Pavel, told CNN that his father will appeal the verdict.
"Of course there will be an appeal," Pavel Khodorkovsky said. "What I'm hoping for right now is the shortest sentence possible, because I'm really hoping to see my dad as soon as possible a free man".
The trial on money laundering and embezzlement charges, which began in March 2009, was the second for the two men. Khodorkovsky, who is already imprisoned after being convicted on other charges, could be sentenced to prison until 2017.
"The trial was a charade of justice, the charges were absolutely false, but I fear the sentencing will be very real," lead defense lawyer Vadim Klyuvgant said in a written statement.
Khodorkovsky and partner Platon Lebedev were accused of stealing billions of dollars' worth of oil from Yukos production subsidiaries from 1998 to 2003. Khodorkovsky has already been convicted of underpaying taxes on the oil and is serving an eight-year sentence for fraud and tax evasion. CNN
