Yukos state prosecutor gets new five-year term News
Yukos state prosecutor gets new five-year term

[JURIST] Russian prosecutor general Vladimir Ustinov [MosNews profile] has won a new term in office. Ustinov has recently led the Russian government's legal charge against businessmen Vladimir Gusinsky [Wikipedia profile], Boris Berezovsky [Wikipedia profile] and former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. Ustinov, whose term has coincided almost exactly as that of President Vladimir Putin [official website], overwhelmingly won re-approval by the Russian upper house. Ustinov says he will continue to pursue tough policies against crime and corruption, a statement taken to mean that there would be no let-up in government crackdowns – said by some to be politically-motivated – on business and militant leaders. Ustinove also made headlines when he suggested that Russian forces should take Chechen rebels' relatives hostage as a result of the Beslan tragedy in which 330 people died. He also is refusing to drop bribery charges against Yulia Tymoshenko [BBC profile], prime minister of the Ukraine, who on Wednesday canceled a planned state visit to Russia as a result [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.