A LAWYER for jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky yesterday appealed his sentence of six more years in prison, a punishment seen as payback for challenging Vladimir Putin’s power and which was widely condemned in the West.

Jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky is appealing against his sentence of six more years in prison, a punishment seen as revenge for challenging ex-President Vladimir Putin’s power.

A Russian lawyer has said she suspects she and her family were poisoned by mercury found in her car, keeping her away from the start of the trial of three men accused in the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya.