Translated material
First nine years
The prosecutor's office promises Khodorkovsky and Lebedev new sentences
The Moscow petty bourgeois court yesterday, unexpectedly for everyone, was relieved of the burden of the seemingly endless announcement of the verdict of the ex-head of YUKOS Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the head of the Menatep MFO Platon Lebedev. Both were found guilty of all the crimes charged by the Prosecutor General's Office and sentenced to nine years in a general regime colony each.This finale of the “trial of the century,” the progress of which was closely followed not only in Russia, but also in the world, came as a complete surprise to absolutely everyone - the defendants themselves, their lawyers and the public. Not because the verdict was guilty. In fact, no one doubted this for a long time. The main surprise was that the announcement ended so simply and without any “accompanying” political or economic shocks.
There have never been examples in modern history where a sentence in a criminal case would take so long to be read - more than two weeks, and the area around the district city court would literally be put under martial law. Because of this, there has long been talk among supporters of the disgraced oligarchs, disillusioned with the justice and independence of the Russian judiciary as a whole, that the announcement of punishment for Khodorkovsky and Lebedev will invariably be accompanied by some “high-profile” events. According to this version, in this way the federal authorities, sensitive to the West's interest in the trial of YUKOS shareholders, could try to divert the attention of the world community from the obviously punitive decision of the Meshchansky Court. Thus, it remains unclear for what reasons the court needed to turn the criminal verdict into a “soap opera.”
Yesterday - already the 12th day in a row - the reading of the verdict against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev was no different from the previous ones. Before the start of the hearing, the lawyers looked at some photographs, laughing, and sometimes talked with the defendants. The audience, yawning, waited for the judges to come out. Upon entering the hall, presiding judge Irina Kolesnikova sat down and immediately continued to present an analysis of the defense arguments presented at the trial. Yesterday, in particular, she touched upon the searches in the office of State Duma deputy Vladimir Dubov (now put on the international wanted list as part of the YUKOS case). The defense insisted that they were carried out in violation of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and this was confirmed by a number of witnesses. But the court found that there were no violations, the prosecution’s arguments were credible, and the defense’s arguments “should be taken critically.”
“Thus, all searches were carried out in compliance with the Code of Criminal Procedure, and all the defense’s arguments were far-fetched, unfounded and unconvincing,” the judges concluded and announced a break. The lawyers joked among themselves. "Well? It turns out we are slanderers?” - lawyer Genrikh Padva turned to lawyer Evgeniy Bar, laughing.
After the break, the judge again monotonously talked for about 20 minutes about the “unreliable arguments” of the defense, and then suddenly announced: “I ask everyone to stand up” (due to the large volume of the sentence, until that moment everyone was allowed to listen to it while sitting).
Everyone present began to look at each other in bewilderment. “The court decided to find Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky guilty of committing the following crimes,” the judge began, and then everyone finally realized that the decisive moment had arrived. Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were found guilty of committing nine crimes under six articles of the Criminal Code - fraud with 44% of the shares of the Scientific Institute of Fertilizers and Insectofungicides (NIUIF), failure to comply with the decision of the arbitration court to invalidate the purchase and sale transaction of shares of NIUIF, theft of property belonging to OJSC Apatit apatite concentrate, causing damage to the state as the owner of Apatit, tax evasion from individuals and organizations, embezzlement of funds belonging to YUKOS in favor of companies controlled by Vladimir Gusinsky. For each of these crimes, the defendants were sentenced to 1.5 to 7 years in prison, and in the end, by partial addition, each of them received 9 years in a general regime colony. In addition, the court announced that it had satisfied the claim of one of the civil plaintiffs, the Federal Tax and Duty Service. “To collect jointly and severally 17 billion 395 million 449 thousand rubles from Khodorkovsky and Lebedev,” read the verdict. Claims by Moscow tax inspectorates No. 2 and No. 5 in the amount of 116 million 986 thousand rubles. and 15 million 987 thousand rubles. accordingly, they were referred by the court for consideration in civil law. The third defendant, general director of AOZT Volna Andrei Krainov (this enterprise, according to the court, was controlled by Khodorkovsky and was used as an instrument for committing crimes) was sentenced to only 5 years probation, since he “actively helped the investigation and repented.”
Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev stood with their heads down, and it was impossible to understand from their faces what they were experiencing. The relatives looked at each other in confusion. “Do you understand the verdict?” - Ms. Kolesnikova asked the defendants. “I understand the verdict,” Mikhail Khodorkovsky answered loudly, “I consider it a monument to “Basmanny justice.” Platon Lebedev reacted more sharply: “It is impossible for any sane person to understand what you just read.” “In this case, the court explains that you have been found guilty of committing the following crimes,” Kolesnikova said calmly and again listed to Mr. Lebedev all the articles of the Criminal Code and the punishment due for their commission. Then, also calmly, she allowed everyone to sit down and began to read out the partial ruling on the charge of fraud with 20% of the shares of Apatit OJSC, for several hours she outlined all the evidence collected on this episode, then announced that Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were found guilty and dismissed the criminal case in this part due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
Meanwhile, journalists present at the announcement of the verdict immediately grabbed their mobile phones after the deadline was announced, and several of them were forcibly dragged out the door by the bailiffs for disturbing the order. “Nine years! Nine years! - they shouted to those who did not have enough space in the courtroom.
Oddly enough, the Prosecutor General's Office was the first to comment on the verdict, which immediately announced a press conference - a few hours before the end of the verdict.
“We consider the verdict fair and objective. It corresponds to the actual circumstances of the case and the gravity of the crimes committed by the defendants,” Natalya Vishnyakova, a representative of the Prosecutor General’s Office, told reporters. “Stop telling tales about the transparency and law-abiding nature of the YUKOS company. We are talking about banal fraud and tax evasion. And the fact that these crimes were committed by the leaders of a large company does not change the essence. Those who shout about the alleged lack of proof of the crimes committed, for the most part, have little idea of what exactly Khodorkovsky, Lebedev and Krainov did.”
After this, Ms. Vishnyakova once again announced that new charges would soon be brought against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev. “Yes, new charges will be brought,” she said. “We are talking about the laundering of criminally acquired funds, which amount to billions of rubles, and we categorically reject any political motive in this case. Astronomical sums were stolen. The state and citizens were shamelessly robbed.”
At this time, Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s wife, Inna, was quietly sobbing in the courtroom. His mother, Antonina Filippovna, hugged her and consoled her, and her husband tried to reassure her with his eyes. In the corridor the situation was heating up. American Congressman Thomas Lantos, founder and chairman of the American Congress of Human Rights in the United States, came to support the eminent convict. “It seems that this political and operatic process has come to its logical end,” he said, declaring his intention to expel Russia from the G8. The bailiffs and police officers on duty at the courthouse began to show concern. And then an unknown representative of the special services in civilian clothes, who had been “herding” journalists for a whole year and introducing himself only as “Ivan Ivanovich,” first forbade talking in the corridor, and then completely put everyone out on the street.
Lawyer Heinrich Padva was the first to comment on the verdict: “We categorically disagree with the decision; this verdict has nothing to do with justice. We will definitely appeal it, although we have little hope for justice, but we will go to the end.” Then lawyer Anton Drel read a statement from Mikhail Khodorkovsky to journalists: “Despite the obvious lack of evidence of my guilt and numerous evidence of my innocence in any crimes, the court decided to send me to a camp. I do not intend to sharply criticize the respected judge Irina Kolesnikova. I can imagine the pressure she was subjected to from the initiators of the “Khodorkovsky case” when she was preparing the verdict. Dozens of officials and simply selfish intermediaries were ready to take any money to court if only they would send me to Siberia. The problem is not Kolesnikova. The point is that the judiciary in Russia has finally turned into a dumb appendage, a blunt instrument of the executive power. And not even the authorities, but several near-criminal economic groups. I do not plead guilty and consider my innocence proven. Therefore, I will appeal the verdict handed down to me today. It is fundamentally important for me to achieve truth and justice in my homeland. I know that the fate of the verdict in my criminal case was decided in the Kremlin. Some representatives of the presidential entourage insisted that only an acquittal would return public trust to the authorities, others - that I needed to be “incarcerated” for a long time in order to deprive me of the will to life, freedom and fight. Even though I'm destined for years in prison, I still feel a huge sense of relief. In my destiny now there is nothing superfluous, random, superficial, no greasy stains. I lost my place in the oligarchic party. But he acquired a huge number of loyal and devoted friends. I regained the feeling of my country. I am now together with my people - we will endure and win together,” read the statement of the convicted oligarch.
Lawyer Corina Moskalenko announced her intention to soon file a complaint about violation of the rights of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev in Strasbourg. “Of course, we will appeal the verdict in Russian courts. This is a political reprisal against an independent and obstinate businessman, against a strong political opponent. And the weapon of this reprisal was the judicial mechanism, and this is very dangerous. Therefore, the only place where justice can be achieved is the European Court of Human Rights,” said Ms. Moskalenko.
Khodorkovsky's parents were the last to leave the courthouse. Despite the shock they had just experienced, they remained steadfast. “Now you see what happens when the KGB comes to power,” said Antonina Filippovna. And Boris Moiseevich said to everyone who came to support his son and who covered this process: “Thank you very much.”
According to lawyers, although the law formally allows 10 days to appeal a verdict, in reality it will take much longer. According to them, due to the large volume of the case, it will take several months just to get acquainted with the protocol. Thus, the verdict will not come into force before the fall. By this time, Khodorkovsky and Lebedev will have spent two years in pre-trial detention. The lawyers calculated that, subject to parole, they could be released in April 2008, that is, a month after the presidential elections.