Russian tycoon Khodorkovsky again found guilty

Mikhail Khodorkovsky was convicted Monday of stealing oil from his own company and laundering the proceeds, a verdict likely to keep the oil tycoon who once challenged the power of Vladimir Putin behind bars for several more years.

The unrelenting legal attack on Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, has come to define the country's transformation under Putin. The outcome of the second trial exposes how little has changed under President Dmitry Medvedev despite his promises to strengthen the rule of law and make courts an independent branch of government.

Putin, now prime minister, remains the more powerful leader. Any lingering doubt that the verdict would be guilty was dispelled this month when he said Khodorkovsky was a proven criminal who should sit in prison.

Putin, seen as the driving force behind the trial, has not ruled out a return to the presidency in 2012 and appears unwilling to risk the possibility that a freed Khodorkovsky could help unite and lead his political foes.

During his seven years in prison, Khodorkovsky has been transformed into a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia. His hair, now gray, is cropped short and his complexion is pasty from lack of sun and exercise, but he appears strong and unbroken.

It was clear from the opening pages of his verdict that the judge had found Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev guilty. Reading the full verdict and announcing the sentence was expected to take several days.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led a chorus of political figures in the United States and Europe in condemning the verdict, which she said "raises serious questions about selective prosecution and about the rule of law being overshadowed by political considerations."

Anyone on St. Vlad's bad side seems to have no luck in court:

Putin’s courts persecute ‘Voice of Beslan’ women

A statement was received by the editorial offices of ‘APN-Northwest’ regarding the immediate prosecution of female activists from the ‘Voice of Beslan’ organization. We are publishing the text in full:

Over the past few months, the ‘Voice of Beslan’ public organization has intensified its activities. Representatives from ‘Voice of Beslan’ have renewed litigation into the actions (or inaction) of investigators looking into the Beslan terrorist attack, held several sanctioned pickets, and met with a group of European members of parliament. All this did not go unnoticed. A series of punitive measures were brought against this active ‘Voice of Beslan’, and the aim of these measures is obvious: to silence members demanding an objective inquiry into the Beslan tragedy.

Co-chair of the ‘Voice of Beslan’ organization, Ella Kesayeva, and members Svetlana Margiyeva, Emilia Bzarova, and Anastasia Tebiyeva, received a decision from Judge Z. Archegova, of Beslan, North Ossetia. The resolution stated that their case, which was related to a violation of Article 17.8 of the Administrative Legal Code (which would carry a fine of up to 1,500 rubles), was transferred to the Federal Bailiff Service for criminal prosecution in accordance with Part 1 of Article 294 of the Penal Code (which could carry a fine of up to 200,000 rubles or arrest from 2 months to three years). This was related a protest in court by Ella Kesayeva. The protest involved four victims, but thus far only one such resolution has been received.

The protest followed judicial hearings on a member of the organization. The victims and their representative had tried to present to the court evidence of a fabricated legal case, filing 10 motions. Magistrate A. Tsallaev went into chambers seven times, then dismissed the petitions. During one such break, legal counsel for the victims and several witnesses were walking along a corridor in the court building, and saw Judge A. Tsallaev speaking on the phone. They heard him ask: “Well, what do I do next?” After this event, police officers no longer allowed the witnesses to leave the courtroom, barring the way, stating that they could not leave. The trial began at 3 o’clock in the afternoon and lasted until 8:15 pm. The victims’ counsel tried to enter the chancellery office, which for some reason was open late, to transmit a petition asking for removal of the judge, but a bailiff, standing at the door, blocked her path and said that she was not allowed in. A secretary from the office shouted over the policeman’s shoulder that they would not accept anything from her and that Judge Tsallaev said they could not to accept any of the counsel’s petitions. The victims asked to invite as witnesses to the trial persons noted in the minutes of the legal protocol, to which the judge replied, “I myself spoke with one witness.” The decision to protest arose spontaneously after the end of the trial, and did not interfere with the work of the court. The law applies to only one side, however, and this is yet another confirmation of how the courts here operate day in and day out.

After acquainting themselves with materials from the administrative case, which led to the protest, the victims discovered that the judge had exceeded the time limit for considering administrative proceedings, after which the case should have been closed. The judge took the initial case with the original date of delivery of the materials to the court, and replaced it with a new date, increasing the date of receipt by exactly one month.

In her decision to bring criminal charges against E. Kesayeva, Magistrate Z. Archegova substantiated the offense by using testimony from bailiffs, who in 2008 had already been proven to fabricate offenses against members of ‘Voice of Beslan’. Administrative charges had been brought against the women for allegedly beating up a judge and bailiffs, but after a great amount of bad publicity the case was dropped. The bailiffs’ experience with giving any and all necessary evidence, however, remained.

The victims of the terrorist attack will appeal the ruling of the court in a lawful manner, but they understand the machinery of the Russian justice system will be used against them at every opportunity.

In ‘APN NORTHWEST’, December 22nd, 2010.

http://www.apn-spb.ru/news/article8096.htm

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