Deadline under the tree

The announcement of the verdict against Mikhail Khodorkovsky was timed to coincide with the New Year

The verdict against Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev will, it seems, be a New Year’s “surprise” for them. His announcement in the Khamovnichesky Court of the capital was supposed to begin yesterday, but was unexpectedly postponed to December 27. At the same time, few doubted that the verdict would be guilty and that no one would simply let the most important “sovereign criminals” go home. And because of this, what happened could seem like an even more obvious attempt to hide the finale of the scandalous process in the pre-New Year bustle.

Judge Viktor Danilkin, presiding over the trial in the so-called “second criminal case of YUKOS”, in which Khodorkovsky and Lebedev are accused of stealing 218 million tons of oil worth 824 billion rubles, scheduled the announcement of the verdict for 11.00. Yesterday he arrived at the court at 7.30, and already at 8.00 journalists began arriving at the Khamovnichesky Court building. No one was allowed inside. And on the doors of the court there was an announcement: “The announcement of the verdict in criminal case No. 1-23/10 on charges of M.B. Khodorkovsky, P.L. Lebedev. will take place on December 27, 2010 at 10:00 am.”

People kept arriving, but were in no hurry to leave, even despite the announcement. Soon a crowd gathered on the narrow sidewalk near the Khamovnichesky Court building in Rostovsky Lane. Journalists crowded at the entrance and on the other side of the street, where several cameras were also located and from where sympathizers of the defendants watched what was happening. Some were holding small posters in their hands. “President, free Khodorkovsky and free yourself,” “Judge Viktor Danilkin! These days, the fate of not only M. Khodorkovsky and P. Lebedev, but also your civil fate is being decided. Show courage and judicial independence. St. Petersburg,” read the inscriptions on the posters. And one was designed in the form of a postcard. In the “to” and “where” columns there was “D.A. Medvedev, st. Ilyinka, 23”, and in the column “from whom” - “2370 citizens”. The text of the postcard read as follows: “Dear Mr. President! Both you and I know well that the conviction of M.B. Khodorkovsky and P.L. Lebedev is a foregone conclusion. Both you and I know very well that you can prevent these people from being unjustly and illegally convicted. I ask you to do this." This time, only one small police detachment was on duty at the court along with the public, in contrast to the first verdict against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, which was handed down by the Meshchansky Court in May 2005. Then Kalanchevskaya Street, where the trial took place, was completely filled with police, riot police and internal troops and from a distance it seemed gray. Yesterday there were few police officers, and they very kindly asked people not to go out onto the roadway, avoiding harsh language.

All those present were interested in only one question: for what reasons was the announcement of the verdict postponed? But no one could answer it except Judge Danilkin himself, otherwise the secrecy of the deliberation room would have been openly violated. However, the majority argued that the judge simply did not have time to write the verdict and needed more time. At approximately 10:00 the lawyers left the courthouse. According to the defense, both they and the defendants were informed of the change in date only yesterday morning.

But a second question immediately arose. If the judge begins to announce the verdict in such a large case on December 27, then when will he finish - before the New Year or after? There was no consensus here. “Even if the announcement of the verdict does begin on December 27, the judge will not have time to get to the operative part before the New Year holidays,” suggested lawyer Konstantin Rivkin. - Let me remind you that the verdict in the first criminal case was read alternately by three professional judges and this process took two weeks. Here we have only one judge, and even if he reads the verdict without breaks for days on end, he won’t have time to finish reading it before January 1.” In turn, lawyer Elena Liptser said, based on her experience, that an acquittal is usually shorter than a conviction.

In any case, it is quite obvious that the closer the New Year holidays are, the less interest citizens have in the verdict against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev. However, according to the results of a survey by the Levada Center (conducted on November 19-22 in 44 regions of the country), 65% of Russians are not at all interested in the “trial of the century.” And only 4% believe in an acquittal. Other opinions were divided only on the severity of the punishment. Thus, 11% believe that the sentence will be suspended, 13% believe that Khodorkovsky and Lebedev will receive only a couple of years, and 9% think that they will be sentenced to more than seven years in prison.

Ekaterina BUTORINA