Rights violation

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled on Tuesday that Russian oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky had faced rights violations after his arrest in 2003. Russia has been ordered to pay him 10,000 euros in damages and 14,543 euros in court costs.

However the court rejected Khodorkovsky's main complaint that his detention for fraud and tax evasion was politically motivated.

The seven-judge panel found that Russian authorities had violated two articles of the European Convention on Human Rights. The violations relate to the conditions in which Khodorkovsky was held in court and in a remand prison. The ruling also criticized the length of time he was held pending investigation and trial, as well as procedural flaws related to his detention.

The ECHR ruled that "while Mr Khodorkovsky's case might raise some suspicion as to what the real intent of the Russian authorities might have been for prosecuting him, claims of political motivation behind prosecution required incontestable proof, which had not been presented."

Fighting against the Kremlin

Khodorkovsky, 47, was head of the Yukos oil company before his arrest eight years ago. He was once Russia's richest man, but his backing of political parties opposed to the then President Vladimir Putin was seen in some circles as reason for his prosecution.

Last week, an appeals court in Moscow upheld his second conviction on charges of stealing oil from his own company. He will now remain in jail until 2016.

But Khodorkovsky is keeping up his fight against the Kremlin. He filed for parole on Monday. His previous attempts for parole have been dismissed by the authorities.

Government critics see the prosecution of Khodorkovsky as part of a Kremlin campaign to tighten state control over oil revenues and punish the tycoon for perceived challenges to Putin whilst he was president.

Author: Joanna Impey (AFP, AP, Reuters)
Editor: Nicole Goebel