You're reading: Rights council objects to Khodorkovsky verdict

MOSCOW (AP) — A human rights council has recommended that prosecutors take action to get former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky's conviction overturned.

Khodorkovsky has been imprisoned since his arrest in 2003 on charges widely seen as punishment for challenging Vladimir Putin, who was president at the time.

A Moscow court last December found him guilty in a second case and ruled to keep him behind bars until 2016.

The rights council under President Dmitry Medvedev issued a report on Wednesday pointing to "fundamental violations" in Khodorkovsky’s second trial, state news agencies reported.

The council urged the prosecutor general to petition to get the verdict annuled.

The council’s decisions are not binding and past decisions have been ignored.