Prior to his arrest, Mikhail Khodorkovsky was known throughout the world as a successful businessman and philanthropist. He is now known as a political prisoner whose vision for a free Russia put him at odds with President Vladamir Putin and the former KGB operatives who control Russia today.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky's story begins when he made his fortune as the former head of Yukos Oil Co. by modernizing and turning Yukos into Russia's most efficient oil producer. He wanted Russia to be a democracy, and established Open Russia, a group that promoted multi-party political democracy and civil society institutions. Khodorkovsky was a leading philanthropist, providing funding to academic institutions. For example, he created a $500 million ongoing trust at Oxford University to provide scholarships for Russian students to study in Britain.
On October 25, 2003, Khodorkovsky was arrested at gunpoint for tax evasion, fraud and embezzlement. At the time of his arrest, Khodorkovsky was providing financial support to several liberal democratic political parties prior to the 2003 parliamentary elections. He was also negotiating the sale of a major interest in Yukos to a multinational oil company. Both of these activities were in direct opposition to Putin and others in the Kremlin who were determined to re-nationalize Russia's oil and gas industry and end Russia's experiment with multi-party democracy.
Khodorkovsky's trial began on June 16, 2004, and concluded on May 31, 2005. The proceedings lasted for almost a year and included numerous and repeated violations of Khodorkovsky's legal, civil and human rights. For instance, his access to his lawyers was severely limited, and even prohibited at times.
After being found guilty and sentenced to prison, on October 16, 2005 (in direct violation of Russia's criminal code), Khodorkovsky was transferred to prison in Siberia. On February 5, 2007, the Kremlin brought additional charges against him to ensure that he would not be released from prison in October 2007, when he would have been eligible for parole after having served half of his original sentence.
Khodorkovsky is being unfairly persecuted for political reasons. His continued imprisonment is further evidence of an unfair regime that crushes its opponents, punishes its critics and extinguishes freedom in Russia.
