Tornado Alley (PROG)

[F6]

(COMTEX) B: Khodorkovsky sentence outrages Kremlin critics
( AP WorldStream )

MOSCOW, May 31, 2005 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- The nine-year
sentence handed down Tuesday to oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky
brought howls of protest from critics of President Vladimir Putin, and
even some of the billionaire's detractors found it harsh.

Rights activists, opposition politicians and liberal commentators
denounced the guilty verdict and lengthy sentence, saying they underline a
lack of justice in Russia and signal the Kremlin's determination
to use its power to suppress dissent.

"This could happen to anyone who demonstrates their independence, who
demonstrates political views not corresponding with the views of the
authorities," liberal politician Irina Khakamada told Ekho Moskvy radio, saying
the verdict had "no relationship" to the facts of the case.

Khodorkovsky's supporters claimed his trial was part of a Kremlin-driven
campaign to punish him for funding opposition parties and to stifle his own
political ambitions.

The sentence will result in "still more fear, still more uncertainty - along
with certainty that there is no justice in this country, independent lawmaker
Vladimir Ryzhkov said on the radio station. "What happened today is yet another
blow against Russia, against its national interest and against its future."

Ryzhkov said the sentence would encourage regional authorities to persecute
entrepreneurs, stifling the kind of economic activity Russia needs in order to
thrive.

"I expect a wave of repression against small and medium business will sweep
across the country. It's almost impossible to stop after today's ruling," he
said.

Yukos spokesman Alexander Shadrin called the verdict "a monstrous travesty of
justice," and a company statement said it was "a tragic example of the
authorities using law enforcement and justice systems for political aims."

Guilty verdicts on the slew of charges against Khodorkovsky and his partner
Platon Lebedev, including fraud and tax evasion, had been widely seen as a
foregone conclusion throughout the trial.

"Khodorkovsky was a threat, a challenger of the regime," Viktor Kremenyuk, an
analyst with Moscow's USA and Canada Institute, told Associated Press Television
News. "He was associated with a new type or a new element ... which was not
dependent on the authorities - and in Russia this is a sin, a grave sin."

But many people here had expected a shorter sentence.

Nationalist lawmaker Dmitry Rogozin - a vehement critic of so-called "oligarchs"
like Khodorkovsky - said he had expected a five-year sentence. Kremlin-connected
analyst Sergei Markov said called the sentence harsh and said it reflected the
bureaucracy's hatred for Khodorkovsky's kind, the Interfax news agency reported.

Rights activist Valeriya Novodvorskaya said it was misguided to expect
Khodorkovsky to be let off easy.

"Under these authorities, there will be no mercy, no freedom and no independent
economy," she told Ekho Moskvy.

Sergei Mironov, speaker of the upper parliament house, said he would have
criticized prosecutors if Khodorkovsky had been found innocent.

"I don't see any negative effects from this" verdict, Interfax quoted Mironov as
saying.

But the trial has hurt Russia's image abroad, dampening foreign investment and
has increased concerns among Western governments.

"It seems that the political trial before a kangaroo court has come to a
shameful conclusion." U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos said outside the courthouse.

"We are concerned that the trend of centralization of power makes it impossible
to continue viewing this country as a democratic country," Lantos said.

By STEVE GUTTERMAN
Associated Press Writer

Copyright 2005 Associated Press, All rights reserved

-0-

*** end of story ***