The European Court of Human Rights Tuesday partially ruled in favor of shareholders in defunct Russian oil company OAO Yukos, but also said that Russia 's conduct was not politically motivated.

The case was brought by the former management of Yukos, once Russia 's biggest oil company, which was liquidated in 2007 and sold off to state oil company OAO Rosneft (ROSN.RS), after its owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky had been prosecuted on charges of fraud and tax evasion.

Yukos shareholders said they were unlawfully targeted by Russian authorities and had asked for over $100 billion in compensation. The court, however, did not rule on the former management's demands for compensation.

In a long-awaited ruling, the court found that Russia violated the right to a fair trial under the European Convention on Human Rights, concerning tax assessment proceedings against Yukos for the year 2000.

It also found violation of protection of property concerning 2000-2011 tax assessments "regarding the imposition and calculation of penalties," and said Russia violated property rights "in that the enforcement proceedings were disproportionate."

At the same time, seven judges also unanimously found no violation of "limitation on use of restriction on rights...concerning whether the Russian authorities had misused the legal proceedings to destroy Yukos and seize its assets."

The court also took issue with Yukos' allegations that the prosecution was "politically motivated."

"Apart from the violations found, there was no indication of any further issues or defects in the proceedings against Yukos, which would have enabled the court to conclude that Russia had misused those proceedings to destroy Yukos and take control of its assets," the court said.

Khodorkovsky and his defenders have for years asserted that the Kremlin's legal assault on him and Yukos was really an attempt to crush a potential political opponent and renationalize his assets.

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