Khodorkovsky appeals fraud conviction to European rights court News
Khodorkovsky appeals fraud conviction to European rights court

[JURIST] Mikhail Khodorkovsky [MosNews profile; JURIST news archive; Khodorkovsky defense website], the former owner of Russian oil giant Yukos [corporate website] who was convicted of tax fraud last year and is now incarcerated in a Siberian prison [JURIST report], filed an appeal [press release] Tuesday in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] alleging that the Russian courts violated his due process rights. Khodorkovsky's lawyers announced their intention to appeal [JURIST report] last September, but estimate that the European court may not hear the appeal for as many as three years. Khodorkovsky has previously alleged that the Kremlin instigated his prosecution to keep him from growing too powerful and politically ambitious. Reuters has more.

Lawyers for Platon Lebedev [defense website], the former head of Russia's Menatep bank and a shareholder in Yukos who was tried concurrently with Khodorkovsky, also announced their own ECHR appeal [press release] Tuesday . Both Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were sentenced to 8-year prison terms. Radio Free Europe has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in Six Days' War

On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six Days' War, and for respect of the right of all States in the area to "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." Read Resolution 242, which remains a cornerstone of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

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On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was later tasked with leading a commission to investigate the assassination. President Johnson received the final report of the Warren Commission on September 24, 1964. Read the Warren Commission Report.