THE PRICE OF DEFYING PUTIN: KHODORKOVSKY IS SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS

Posted By on December 30th, 2010

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40841084/ns/world_news-europe/
Russian tycoon Khodorkovsky gets 14-year sentence

MOSCOW — A judge has sentenced jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky to 14 years in prison following a trial seen as payback for his defiance of Vladimir Putin’s power.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr  /  AP

Mikhail Khodorkovsky looks on from behind a glass enclosure at a court room in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2010. Khodorkovsky, 47, is in the final year of an eight-year sentence after being convicted of tax evasion, and the new conviction on charges of embezzlement and money laundering could keep him behind bars for several more years. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr)

MOSCOW — A judge has sentenced jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky to 14 years in prison following a trial seen as payback for his defiance of Vladimir Putin’s power.

Judge Viktor Danilkin on Thursday handed down the sentence after convicting Khodorkovsky of stealing oil from his own company annd laundering the proceeds.

Khodorkovsky is in the final year of an eight-year prison sentence. His lawyers say the new sentence is counted from his 2003 arrest and includes his previous term in jail.

Putin is seen as the driving force behind the trial of Khodorkovsky, who challenged him during his presidency.

Putin, eyeing a return to the presidency in 2012, appears unwilling to risk the possibility that a freed Khodorkovsky could help lead his political foes.

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