Russia's Khodorkovsky 'punished for tea-drinking'

MOSCOW, Mar 17 (Reuters) Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was put in a punishment cell at a Siberian prison today for drinking tea in the wrong place, a statement on his Web site said.

Khodorkovsky, who is serving an eight-year sentence for fraud and tax evasion in a prison near the Chinese border, will spend seven days in the punishment cell with another prisoner who committed the same offence, said his press service.

Telephone calls to the Russian Prison Service seeking confirmation of the report went unanswered.

''The official explanation ... is for consuming food outside the specially allocated place,'' the statement on the www.khodorkovsky.ru Web site said, citing a Khodorkovsky lawyer.

''This means that Khodorkovsky received seven days in the punishment cell for drinking tea,'' the statement said.

In January, Khodorkovsky was placed in a punishment cell for five days for having documents which the prison authorities said were banned.

Also Khodorkovsky's charity, Open Russia, said today all its bank accounts had been frozen on the orders of prosecutors.

They obtained a court order to freeze the funds as part of an investigation linked to the original fraud and tax investigation case against Khodorkovsky, the charity's press service said.

Open Russia says it funds educational, social and human rights projects.

Khodorkovsky's battle with the Kremlin has been a major theme of Russian politics since his arrest in 2003.

Once ranked as Russia's richest man, Khodorkovsky made his fortune in the 1990s when he gained control of a lucrative unit of the state oil industry, which was being privatised.

In May he was convicted of charges including fraud and tax evasion. His appeal was thrown out in September. He said the charges were part of a plan by Kremlin officials to take control of his YUKOS oil company.

YUKOS has been brought to its knees by massive back-tax claims and the state auction of its main production unit.

REUTERS SHR RN2308