The former Russian oil tycoon is being sent to jail, again, after the verdict for his trial was reached. An assistant to the judge, Ms. Natalya Vasilyeva, has come forward to claim that the trial was rigged, and that the judge was essentially instructed by someone in the government to make the wrong ruling and give such a harsh sentence. Mr. Khodorkovsky might be sentenced to prison until 2017.
Read the reports from the New York Times here and the Huffington post here.
I’m starting to think that this trial wasn’t entirely the showing of the lack of freedom allowed in Russia (although of course it still plays a big part), but a personal vendetta between Putin and Khodorkovsky. Khodorkovsky must have really ticked off Putin, because only the PM, or somebody high on the government ladder and is close to him, can toss Mr. K back into jail without any repercussions. And I’m guessingPresident Medvedev wants nothing to do with the issue, seeing as he has been silent so far.
