Russian tycoon

BRUSSELS: More than 100 EU lawmakers have written to Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of a high-profile G8 meeting in Russia demanding a fair trial for the jailed founder of the Yukos oil company. “The chairing of the G8 summit in St. Petersburg represents an important opportunity for Russia that should not be marred by the brutal treatment that has been afforded Mikhail Khodorkovsky,” the members of the EU parliament said. “We urge you, in conformity with Russian law, to return him to a prison near Moscow and to ensure that he is swiftly given a fair trial,” they added. Khodorkovsky was once Russia’s richest man but was handed an eight-year prison sentence in May last year for embezzlement and other financial crimes, while Yukos has been dismembered in the courts. Critics saw the case as a politically driven attack against the ambitious businessman who had become critical of Putin’s leadership.