Brian Whitmore over at the Power Vertical has a blog post up on the coming Mikhail Khodorkovsky trial:

Critics say the case — like Khodorkovsky’s 2005 trial in which he was convicted of tax evasion and fraud and sentenced to eight years in prison — is a fabricated and made-to-order affair to make sure that he stays in prison for the foreseeable future.

After serving half of his eight year sentence, Khodorkovsky is eligible to apply for early release. He has already been denied parole once, but the Kremlin apparently doesn’t want to take any chances. A conviction in the new trial could lead to an additional sentence as long as 27 years.