Russia blasts West over political meddling
Moscow, Russian Federation (AHN) – A day after the United States and Germany denounced the second trial of jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russia has blasted the West for putting on unacceptable pressure.
A statement from Russian Foreign Ministry on its website said, “Attempts to exert pressure on the court are unacceptable.” “We expect everyone to mind his own business, both at home and in the international arena,” it added.
Khodorkovsky was once considered as a threat to former President Vladimir Putin. He was convicted of embezzlement for stealing from his firm Yukon with his business partner Platon Lebedev. Khodorkovsky’s lawyers vowed to appeal against the verdict, of which they said came amid official pressure.
Khodorkovsky is already serving an eight-year sentence for tax evasion and fraud in a separate trial for which he was jailed in 2005.
On Tuesday, Khodorkovsky and Lebedev reappeared in the court as the judge delivered his verdict. Experts suggest Western governments to silently watch Russia’s anti-corruption moves.
So far Khodorkovsky case has not yet affected between Russia and Western nations in issues like allowing transit to NATO forces fighting in Afghanistan, cooperation on Iran sanctions and new agreement on START treat.
The White House had expressed its deep concerns as Spokesman Robert Gibbs described the verdict as a “selective application” of justice. This appears to be an abusive use of the legal system for improper ends.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday said that Khodorkovsky’s verdict would negatively affect Russia’s reputation, adding that it “raises serious questions about selective prosecution – and about the rule of law being overshadowed by political considerations.”
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