Khodorkovsky Trial (2005)
A Russian court convicted Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, of tax evasion and fraud. He was sentenced to eight years in prison, later extended, in a case widely seen as punishment for challenging the Kremlin.
Khodorkovsky spent a decade in prison before a pardon in 2013.
The case established a template of criminal prosecution against figures the state views as threats, with appellate courts rarely intervening.
Shows a pattern where Russian courts convict on politically sensitive charges and appeals rarely succeed, the same dynamic Belenkiy now faces.
