Simon Tisdall (Guardian Utd): Oligarch's prosecution may be cock-up

[Jack Rabbit]

From the Guardian Unlimited (UK)
Dated Wednesday May 18

Oligarch's prosecution may be more cock-up than conspiracy
By Simon Tisdall

The trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky has raised questions about the judicial system in Russia, human rights, political persecution and future business confidence which have no comfortable answers.

The protracted, still unresolved Yukos affair has also cast a shadow over Russia's relations with the US, where the billionaire oligarch is well-connected. But suggestions in Washington that Russia's standing in the G8 and its hopes of World Trade Organisation membership could be affected are not likely to amount to much, once the fuss dies down.

Mr Khodorkovsky was accused of fraud and tax evasion. But his real crime, not recorded on any charge sheet, may have been to challenge the power of the state just as President Vladimir Putin was trying to restore the Kremlin's authority after the disordered reign of his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin.

The Yukos boss converted his oil wealth into political capital by funding liberal opposition parties such as Yabloko, lobbying parliament, and creating the pro-democracy Open Russia Foundation.

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