What are you about?

Former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky said in court on April 7 that he was “completely deprived of the right” to know what he was accused of. According to Khodorkovsky, the investigator deliberately and specifically deprived him of this right, drawing up “the charge in incomprehensible and vague terms, knowingly using a contradictory statement, as well as false statements discrediting me that go beyond the disposition of the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation presented to me.” In particular, Khodorkovsky recalled that in one episode of the criminal case the statute of limitations had expired, “and in the second, they forgot to falsify, invent and describe the act itself. There are only qualifications. It is impossible to discuss laundering without a crime.” He stated that it was unclear “what device or sensory organ established that the oil had been seized.” The investigation, according to the accused, refused to explain to him “vague terms and contradictions.” He stated that the authority of the court and the independence of the judiciary is a key issue here, since “the Yukos case is symbolic” and “thousands and tens of thousands of Russian courts, hundreds of thousands and millions of law enforcement officers through newspapers and television perceive the standards of justice established in this case as a role model, as an example on which one can and can rely.” Prosecutor Valery Lakhtin began reading the indictment. According to him, he does not understand why Khodorkovsky and Lebedev are unclear about the essence of the charges brought against them.