Court: Russian violated Yukos' rights

STRASBOURG, France, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- A human rights court in Strasbourg, France, said Russia violated the rights of oil giant Yukos, which was closed down in 2007 on tax evasion charges.

The European Court of Human Rights, the highest human rights court in Europe, said Russia did not give Yukos enough time to prepare a defense on tax evasion charges, but stopped short of saying Russian authorities targeted the company on political grounds.

The company was headed by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a political rival of former Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Khodorkovsky, who is serving two jail sentences for tax evasion and theft, has charged repeatedly that the government deliberately persecuted the company and him for political reasons.

But the court said, "There had been no violation of Article 14," which prohibits discrimination, RIA Novosti reported Tuesday.

The court ruled similarly last year on Khodorkovsky's individual plight, saying Russia had violated his rights, but that it was not proved the reason for doing so was political.

Not everyone is convinced the court got it right. The head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Lyudmila Alexeyeva, said, "To me, it's evident the case was politically motivated. Yukos paid its tax honestly."

The company was closed in 2006 and sold the following year with many of its assets purchased by state-controlled companies.