Russian court orders arrest of former businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky
The Russian Investigative Committee has issued an international arrest warrant for the Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky. He is accused of murdering the mayor of a Siberian town in 1998.
“Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been put on an international wanted list,” said IC spokesman Vladimir Markin, according to Russia’s official TASS news agency.
Earlier this month, Russian authorities charged the former head of Yukos Oil Company for the 1998 murder of Vladimir Petukhov, a mayor in Siberia, along with the attempted murder of two other men.
Khodorokovsky spent a decade in prison after being arrested in 2003 on charges of tax evasion, fraud and embezzlement.
He has maintained his innocence, with his supporters saying he was tried on trumped up charges due to a falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
