Russian Tycoon Sentenced 9 Years

Former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was Russia's richest man before the government dismantled his empire, was convicted Tuesday of fraud and tax evasion. He was sentenced to nine years in prison following a trial widely denounced as politically motivated.

The court also ordered Khodorkovsky and his co-defendant, Platon Lebedev, to pay a total of more than $615 million in taxes and penalties.

The conviction and sentence came on the 12th day of the laborious verdict-reading process in the most closely watched case of post-Soviet Russia. Outside the courtroom, demonstrators chanted, "Shame! Shame!"

Khodorkovsky, 41, the former head of the Yukos oil company, looked straight ahead as the sentence was pronounced. Prosecutors had asked for the maximum 10 years.

In a statement read outside the court by defense attorney Anton Drel, Khodorkovsky said he would not harshly criticize the judge, noting "the pressure she has come under from the initiators of the case when preparing the verdict."

"Judicial power has been turned into a blunt weapon of the authorities," he said in the statement.

He also said Khodorkovsky wanted to devote his efforts in prison to charitable and social works, including a proposed fund for aiding inmates.

The nine-year sentence includes time served, meaning that Khodorkovsky, who has already spent 583 days in jail, would serve another 7 years. He will serve his sentence at a medium-security prison camp, which is seen as somewhat more tolerable than Russia's deteriorating and overcrowded jails.

Khodorkovsky's lawyers said they will appeal the ruling, while the prosecutor-general's office reiterated that new criminal charges against Khodorkovsky were being prepared.

In Washington, President Bush said he expressed concerns with President Vladimir Putin about Khodorkovsky's trial.

"Here, you're innocent until proven guilty, and it appeared to us, at least people in my administration, that it looked like he had been judged guilty prior to having a fair trial," Bush said. "We're watching the ongoing case."

Bush said he has questioned whether the case shows a backsliding away from the rule of law and democracy in Russia and said it will "be interesting to see" how Khodorkovsky's appeal is handled by the government.

Lebedev was found guilty of the same charges and received the same sentence. Asked if he understood, he answered, "There's not a sane person who can understand what you have said."

The judge then read his sentence again.

Supporters claim Khodorkovsky's trial is part of a Kremlin-driven campaign to punish him for funding opposition parties and to stifle his own political ambitions. The sentence would keep him in prison well past the 2008 presidential election, when a successor to Putin is to be chosen, and potentially during the 2012 election as well.