Britain and the United States led international condemnation today after the Russian oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev were found guilty of theft and money laundering by a court in Moscow.

The Foreign Office said the conviction could threaten trade relations between the countries, and Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said it raised “serious questions about the rule of law being overshadowed by political considerations”.

Supporters of the two men say the trial is a Kremlin-orchestrated campaign designed as vengeance against Khodorkovsky – once Russia’s richest man – for supporting opposition politicians.

“This and similar cases have a negative impact on Russia’s reputation for fulfilling its international human rights obligations and improving its investment climate,” Clinton said, in comments that are likely to anger Moscow. “We welcome President [Dmitry] Medvedev’s modernisation plans, but their fulfilment requires the development of a climate where due process and judicial independence are respected,” she added.

Read the full article on The Guardian.