This court decision “completely discredits the idea of objective, independent and open court proceedings”, the statement of the ex-YUKOS head pointed out. In Khodorkovsky’s opinion, at yesterday’s trial representatives of the General Prosecutor’s Office were to present conclusive evidence to a number of points, for example, about the necessity to hold hearings behind closed doors, which was required by legislation.

“The hearings behind closed doors testify to the fact that the Russian General Prosecutor’s Office has no such evidence or that the evidence it presented cannot stand any criticism,” the document points out.

Additionally, in Khodorkovsky’s opinion, representatives of the General Prosecutor’s Office were to prove that he personally was a threat to administrating justice. “This threat can be eliminated no other way than by imprisoning me,” Khodorkovsky noted. “In its turn, the court must, and I would like to emphasize that this is the court’s duty, not charity or an expression of humanism, release me if the General Prosecutor’s Office does not present such evidence or if they are turned down at a court trial,” the statement stresses.

It is worth mentioning that the Basmanny court of Moscow prolonged imprisonment of former YUKOS CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky for another three months until March 25, 2004. This decision was made on a motion of the General Prosecutor’s Office. The court proceedings were behind closed doors. As reported earlier, according to a decision of the Basmanny court of Moscow made in late October 2003, the former head of YUKOS was to stay in jail until December 30, 2003.

Mr. Khodorkovsky was arrested in Novosibirsk on a petition of the General Prosecutor’s Office on October 25 and transferred to Moscow. He is charged with fraud, violation of a court order, personal and corporate tax evasion, forgery of documents and embezzlement. Additionally, Khodorkovsky is accused of non-payment of individual income tax and compulsory contributions to the Pension Fund totaling $1.7m in 1998 and 1999.