Mikhail Khodorkovsky ministry criticises Western pressure

Don't play Play now More video Recommended Click to play video Rosetta Stone Gunfire on the streets of Syria Click to play video Obamas greet APEC leaders Click to play video Bangkok battles to keep highways open Click to play video After week's turmoil Penn State finally plays Replay video Return to video Video settings Khodorkovsky found guilty again A judge declares former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his partner guilty of charges including embezzlement in their second trial. Video feedback Video settings MOSCOW: Russia yesterday tartly told the West to keep out of its domestic affairs after ''unacceptable'' criticism by the United States and Europe of the new guilty verdict for the jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Khodorkovsky is facing the prospect of an additional lengthy jail term after being found guilty in his second trial the day earlier in a verdict that provoked an angry reaction in the West. The White House said it was ''deeply concerned'' about the ''selective application of justice''. France called for rule of law in Russia, while Germany said the verdict was a step backward. Advertisement: Story continues below Defiant ... a Rosetta Stone Software protester arrested at a Khodorkovsky rally. Photo: REUTERS Using language unusually blunt for a diplomatic statement, the Russian foreign ministry criticised ''unacceptable'' Western pressure in a process that has long been a bone of contention between Moscow and its former Cold War foes. ''We expect everyone to mind his own business, both at home and in the international arena,'' it said. ''Attempts to exert pressure on the court are unacceptable. ''Assertions about some kind of selective application of justice in Russia are groundless. Russian courts consider thousands of cases related to entrepreneurs' responsibility towards the law.'' The reading of the full verdict in the Khodorkovsky case is expected to be completed over the course of the coming days, with uncertainty surrounding the precise date of the announcement of the sentence. On Monday, Judge Viktor Danilkin said Khodorkovsky and his co-accused, Platon Lebedev, had been convicted of embezzlement and money laundering, dashing the hopes of Russian liberals that the trial would show a new approach from the courts. He Rosetta Stone Spanish (Latin) continued to read the verdict yesterday.