Khodorkovsky and the Rule of Law
Was it out of shame that Judge Viktor Danilkin ordered journalists out of Moscow’s Khamovnichesky Court on Monday just after he pronounced the “guilty” verdict against Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his co-defendant, Platon Lebedev? Or was it simply another example of what Russians call “telephone justice” — replacing the rule of law with direct orders from high-level politicians?
It’s hard to say whether the judge himself was embarrassed by the verdict, but Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made it clear several days ago how the Khodorkovsky trial would unfold when, responding to a question on national television, he declared: “A thief should sit in jail.”… Seguir leyendo »