A former official at the Russian court that tried Mikhail Khodorkovsky has said in an interview published on April 15 that it wasn't the judge who decided the jailed ex-oil tycoon's fate.
Igor Kravchenko, a former administrator at the Moscow court, told "Novaya Gazeta" that Judge Viktor Danilkin admitted taking orders from other people.
Khodorkovsky is serving a 14-year term after being found guilty in December of stealing more than $25 billion worth of oil from three subsidiaries of Yukos, his former oil company.
He was already serving an eight-year term on similar charges that were widely seen as punishment for challenging then-President Vladimir Putin.
Kravchenko is the second former court official to accuse Danilkin of failing to act independently, which the judge himself has repeatedly denied.
compiled from agency reports
Igor Kravchenko, a former administrator at the Moscow court, told "Novaya Gazeta" that Judge Viktor Danilkin admitted taking orders from other people.
Khodorkovsky is serving a 14-year term after being found guilty in December of stealing more than $25 billion worth of oil from three subsidiaries of Yukos, his former oil company.
He was already serving an eight-year term on similar charges that were widely seen as punishment for challenging then-President Vladimir Putin.
Kravchenko is the second former court official to accuse Danilkin of failing to act independently, which the judge himself has repeatedly denied.
compiled from agency reports
