Russia rejects criticism of oil tycoon case

Russia’s foreign ministry has angrily rejected Western criticism of jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s conviction in a second criminal case, saying it amounted to pressuring the court.

Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s richest man, was convicted yesterday of stealing oil from his own company and laundering the proceeds in a verdict likely to keep the tycoon who once challenged the power of Vladimir Putin behind bars for several more years.