Russian tycoons` criminal trial opens YUKOS CASE:
ByLine: By ANDREW JACK
The criminal trial of two of Russia's best-known business tycoons opened
yesterday in Moscow - only to be adjourned until next Monday after a request
for a delay on health grounds by one of the defendants' lawyers.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former chief executive and largest shareholder in
the oil group Yukos, and his business partner Platon Lebedev, both appeared
in the Meshchansky court in Moscow for open hearings that were dominated by
procedural questions.
The three judges agreed to defer substantive hearings until Monday while one
of the lawyers recovered from an eye operation. They agreed to hear a request
to release Mr Khodorkovsky on bail the same day.
However, they refused a request yesterday to release Mr Lebedev on bail
immediately in spite of claims by his lawyers that his continued detention
since his arrest last July was a violation of Russian criminal procedures.
Lawyers for Mr Lebedev, who appeared to have aged during his detention, say
their client is suffering from serious ill health as the result of his
imprisonment, which has hindered the preparation of his defence.
He and Mr Khodorkovsky, who controlled the Menatep group, the largest
stakeholder in Yukos and other Russian companies, sat together in a cage
during the trial, giving them a rare moment to talk together.
The two men have been kept apart over the past few months and Russian
prosecutors have argued for their continued detention, suggesting that
otherwise the case against them might be jeopardised.
Both are accused by prosecutors of fraud and tax evasion totalling Dollars
1bn (Euros 622m, Pounds 546m) and membership of an "organised
group", to which tax inspectors have recently added Dollars 700m in
personal liability for alleged tax underpayment at Yukos.
Dozens of journalists gathered outside the small courtroom but only a handful
were let in to observe the hearings in rotation. Mr Khodorkovsky's
parents, as well as Vasily Shakhnovsky, one of their partners, were among the
others allowed to attend.
A number of Moscow university students demonstrated outside the court,
calling for his release. Vladimir, a chemistry student, said: "Arresting
entrepreneurs such as him damages the Russian economy."
Yukos shares slipped further yesterday amid continued uncertainty about the
future of the company and Menatep's stake.
The company faces an appeal on Friday on a Dollars 3.4bn additional tax claim
for 2000, which could trigger its bankruptcy if an asset-freezing order is
not lifted.
Investors were pessimistic in spite of claims by several Russian politicians
and officials over the past few days that the authorities would ensure that
minority shareholders would not suffer if such a process took place. Parents
speak out, Page 24
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