Oil tycoon and Putin critic gets maximum jail term
Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was sentenced to an additional six years behind bars on Thursday in a case that raises questions about Vladimir Putin’s influence over the country’s justice system. Khodorkovsky has in the past been critical of the Russian prime minister, who has in turn called for Khodorkovsky’s imprisonment. Khodorkovsky, who was found guilty earlier this week of embezzling billions of dollars of oil from his own conglomerate, is already serving an eight-year sentence on an earlier conviction that ends in 2011, right before the next presidential elections, in which Putin is reportedly considering running. The 14-year sentence was the maximum penalty.