Shorts: World

Russian Jewish oil magnate sentenced

moscow (jta) | A Russian court sentenced a Jewish oil magnate to nine years in jail.

In a decision anticipated by Russian media, the court sentenced Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russia's richest man, after finding him guilty of six charges out of seven, including tax evasion, fraud and embezzlement.

Khodorkovsky's business partner, Platon Lebedev, also was jailed for nine years on the same charges; a third defendant, Andrei Krainov, was given a suspended sentence of five and a half years. Lebedev and Krainov are not Jewish. Most observers say Khodorkovsky wasn't targeted because of his Jewish origin, but many Jews feel the trial led to a rise in anti-Semitic sentiment in Russia.




Spy from the right?


jerusalem (jta) | A former far-right Austrian politician said he helped the Mossad. Peter Sichrovsky told Austria's Profil magazine this week that he agreed to serve as a liaison between Israel's foreign spy service and the Arab world while serving as secretary-general of the Freedom Party.

"I cooperated with the Mossad until my resignation from politics," he said. "I wanted to help Israel and certainly did nothing wrong. I am no James Bond."

The Freedom Party's former chief, Jorg Haider, was forced to resign over remarks that were widely perceived as pro-Nazi. He was known for his contacts with Saddam Hussein and other Arab leaders. "Israel wanted to use Haider as a bridge to the Arab lands with which no official contacts existed," the Jewish-born Sichrovsky said. Israeli officials declined comment on his claims.




Austrians agree on compensation


berlin (jta) | The Austrian government and Jewish community agreed on compensation for communal property looted or destroyed during the Nazi period.

The Board of the General Reparations Fund announced May 25 that it would pay some $22.8 million to the Israelitisch Kultusgemeinde, or IKG, the secular body representing Austrian Jewry, as soon as legal security for Austria is guaranteed against pending lawsuits.

The new funds will be used to cover social services, including old-age homes, counseling for Holocaust survivors and debt repayment, said Hannah Lessing, general secretary of the National Fund of the Republic of Austria and the General Settlement Fund for former slave laborers, from which the payment will be made.