| The guilt of Mikhail Khodorkovsky was recognized by the court as fully proven The “trial of the century” in the case of ex-head of YUKOS Mikhail Khodorkovsky and head of MFO Menatep Platon Lebedev may end today. The defendants' lawyers stated this with confidence. In addition, last Friday it was decided to provide round-the-clock enhanced security for the Meshchansky Court building over the weekend and organize emergency security measures on Monday.
On Friday, the Meshchansky District Court of the capital completed an analysis of all the charges brought against them, with the exception of one - fraud with shares of Apatit OJSC, for which the case should be dismissed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. In addition, the episode of fraud, of which the third defendant is accused - the general director of Volna JSC Andrei Krainov, remains "uncovered". Although the verdict has not yet been announced, the defense has already announced its intention to appeal it.
On Friday, the Meshchansky courtroom, where the “trial of the century” was taking place, was again packed to capacity - many were sure that the finale of the sprawling performance would come on that very day. However, the audience was disappointed. The panel of judges, which had been announcing the verdict full time all last week, again “slowed down”, devoting only about three hours to readings. "These people will spend another week-end in a 'cage', pondering their fate, which will be decided absolutely arbitrarily," said Robert Amsterdam, Khodorkovsky's Canadian lawyer. “Leaving just one episode unexamined and ending the meeting at that point is simply outrageous! It feels like I’m in a madhouse,” Lebedev’s lawyer Elena Liptser echoed her colleague.
Nevertheless, some “progress” is still being observed. To date, the court has considered all the episodes for which it considered the guilt of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev proven. Namely: fraud with 44% of the shares of the Scientific Institute of Fertilizers and Insectofungicides (NIUIF), malicious failure to comply with an arbitration decision to invalidate the sale and purchase transaction of these shares, theft of apatite concentrate, causing harm to the owners of Apatite OJSC without signs of theft, malicious failure to comply with an arbitration decision court to invalidate the sale and purchase transaction of 20% of Apatit shares, evasion of taxes from individuals and organizations, embezzlement of funds belonging to YUKOS in favor of companies controlled by Vladimir Gusinsky. To complete the reasoning part of the verdict, the judges can only assess the actions of the third defendant, Andrei Krainov - the general director of Volna JSC, allegedly controlled by Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, is accused of fraudulently stealing funds from the budget of the Volgograd region. The court must also express its opinion on the episode with the theft of 20% of Apatit shares, the statute of limitations for which expired in July last year.
In all likelihood, the judges today can move on to the operative part of the verdict and announce their verdict on Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev. However, no one dares to make accurate forecasts; judge Irina Kolesnikova and her two colleagues are too inconsistent in their actions. Platon Lebedev even forbade his lawyers to say anything about this. “In connection with the contradictory actions and decisions of the Meshchansky Court on the deliberate falsification of circumstances and facts in the announcement of the verdict, incompatible with the status of judges, disgracing their honor and dignity, I prohibit my defense from making any public comments on the assessment of their activities until my special order,” - - Lebedev’s lawyer Vladimir Krasnov read out Lebedev’s statement to journalists.
But now the defense has no doubt that the verdict will be appealed. “There are a lot of violations and factors in this verdict that do not correspond to reality. This is simply absurd. We will undoubtedly appeal the verdict after the final verdict is rendered, since it is already clear that our clients will be found guilty,” Ms. Liptser noted.
The fact that a verdict can be rendered today is indirectly confirmed by the intention of law enforcement agencies to strengthen the already unprecedented security measures at the building of the Meshchansky Court and inside it. 24-hour enhanced security was organized throughout the weekend.
“When will this show end? - an elderly passerby was indignant, looking at the metal barriers, the police cordon and the resulting traffic jam on Kalanchevskaya Street. - Why are they torturing him? They could have stopped mocking him, condemned him as quickly as possible, and he would have long been out in the fresh air, at the logging site. Yes, it’s obvious our country is so stupid.” Ekaterina BUTORINA |
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