Khodorkovsky Wins in (Swiss) Court

A Swiss court has refused to give Russian authorities bank documents related to the Yukos energy company and its former owner, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was imprisoned by the Putin government in 2005. In its decision, the Swiss court cited “the political and discriminatory character of the procedure in Russia.”

From the AP: “A lawyer for Khodorkovsky in Switzerland, Philippe Neyroud, said it was the first time Switzerland has refused to grant legal aid based on the consideration that the criminal proceedings abroad are politically manipulated.

“The gravity and importance of that underlines completely the position taken by the defense in Russia at the original show trial,” another Khodorkovsky lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, told reporters in a conference call.”

This decision leads to the release of accounts worth over 200 million dollars.