Putin aide attends Khodorkovsky trial

Moscow, Russia, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A top aide to President Vladimir Putin visited the trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky Friday, Interfax news agency reported.

Presidential adviser Andrei Illarionov showed up at Moscow's Meshchansky Court for the trial of the founder, chief shareholder and former CEO of the Yukos oil corporation and his business associate, Platon Lebedev, as an ordinary visitor, Khodorkovsky's lawyer Genrikh Padva told Interfax.

A recess has been announced in the hearings until Jan. 11. At the next hearings, the defendants' lawyers will continue to present their arguments, the news agency said.

Khodorkovsky, who previously funded media outlets and political movements strongly critical of Putin, is charged with massive fraud and tax evasion. He could face 10 to 15 years in jail if convicted.

(UPI via The Washington Times, 12.31.2004)