Russian billionaire and head of the Pravoye Delo political party Mikhail Prokhorov does not fear succumbing to the same fate as Mikhail Khodorkovsky, gazeta.ru quoted Pokhorov as saying in an interview with the online publication.
“I publically quit business and headed a political party. I did this according to Russian law,” the head of Pravoye Delo said. “I have not done anything that is forbidden.”
And if former Yukos CEO, jailed since 2005 for economic crimes, had done the same, “the outcome would have been different.”
Khodorkovsky says the charges against him were politically motivated and revenge for his backing of Russia’s opposition under then-president Vladimir Putin. These allegations have always been denied by Russian officials.
Prokhorov, however, criticized the decision to try Khodorkovsky and Lebedev a second time, saying that there had been “procedural violations” and “doubts” about its fairness and supported the businessmen’s so-far-unsuccessful appeals for early release.