It started with a refusal

On March 3, the second trial of the former head of Yukos Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the former head of Menatep Platon Lebedev began, for which they were brought to Moscow from the Chita region.

The trial is taking place in the Khamovnichesky Court, the case is being considered by Judge Viktor Danilkin. Khodorkovsky and Lebedev are this time accused of “embezzlement or embezzlement, that is, theft of someone else’s property entrusted to them using their official position by an organized group on a large and especially large scale,” of “conducting financial transactions and other transactions with funds and other property, acquired by other persons, criminally using their official position by an organized group”, as well as “in carrying out financial transactions and other transactions with funds or other property acquired as a result of a crime or using these funds or other property to carry out business activities” . A representative of one of the injured subsidiaries of oil-producing joint stock companies - OJSC Tomskneft VNK - said that if the guilt of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev is proven, they will have to pay 170 billion rubles (of which Tomskneft 93 billion, and Samaraneftegaz - 77 billion rubles) .

Even Duma deputies express bewilderment and dissatisfaction in connection with the second trial of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev. Communist Viktor Ilyukhin, who is not known for his tender attitude towards large entrepreneurs, called this a disgrace for the Russian Themis, the actual fulfillment of the order of the former president, mockery and revenge for Khodorkovsky’s position.

First of all, the defense of the accused filed a motion to disqualify state prosecutors Dmitry Shokhin and Valery Lakhtin. Lawyers said that these people are too well known for their participation in previous trials against Yukos. Shokhin was the state prosecutor at the first trial against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, and Lakhtin participated in trials, in particular, to extend the period of detention of the accused.

The judge left the deliberation room for a while to make a decision, after which he announced that the lawyers’ petition was rejected. “The court wrote that it does not see any legal circumstances that would prevent the participation of these state prosecutors,” Khodorkovsky’s lawyer Karina Moskalenko told Interfax.

The lawyers intend to file a petition to have the case heard in another court. According to them, the judge must decide whether the Khamovnichesky Court has jurisdiction over the case. However, for now, the judge said the motion could be filed at a later date.

The defense, in addition, filed a motion to ensure the confidentiality of communications between the defendants and their lawyers without interference from the convoy. Khodorkovsky's lawyer Konstantin Rivkin said that the issue of extending the period of detention for Khodorkovsky and Lebedev to consider this criminal case should be raised.

Meanwhile, the Defense movement held a rally in support of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev outside the court. Several people were detained and taken to the Khamovniki police station. Previously, Moscow authorities did not allow pickets to be held near the courthouse.