Marathon Yukos verdict to drag on

The judge in the fraud trial of ex-Yukos tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has adjourned her verdict for the fifth straight day.
A final judgement in the 11-month trial will not now be delivered until Monday at the earliest.

During the week, the court has been hearing a recitation - part-summing up, part-judgement - of seven indictments of tax evasion and fraud.

Mr Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, faces up to 10 years in prison.

His lawyers are unanimous in expecting a conviction.

There have been daily protests outside the court, and one of his lawyers has said the case is an "act of reprisal" for Mr Khodorkovsky's links with the liberal opposition.

Stacked odds

"I cannot agree with the arguments of the defence," Judge Irina Kolesnikova said as she read the summation of witness testimony on one of the charges on Wednesday.
It is an act of reprisal

Defence lawyer Yuri Schmidt


Yukos verdict grinds on

Another judge added that Mr Khodorkovsky had taken part in a "pre-planned deception" when he acquired shares in a research institute by promising investment that never materialised.

Mr Khodorkovsky has always proclaimed his innocence and has refused to ask the court for leniency.

"We are seeing here an incredible distortion of defence evidence," said Yuri Schmidt, a lawyer for Mr Khodorkovsky. "It has exceeded our worst expectations."

"This is not a sentence. It is an act of reprisal."

Tax demands

Mr Khodorkovsky has been in prison since October 2003 and is being charged along with business associate Platon Lebedev.

He has branded the charges trumped-up and said they were used to "plunder" Yukos.

His lawyers have argued that political pressures played a big part in Mr Khodorkovsky's arrest and trial.

Many analysts agree, saying that the trial is politically motivated and that Mr Khodorkovsky is being punished for his funding of opposition political parties.

Yukos, the company that Mr Khodorkovsky founded, has come under attack while Mr Khodorkovsky has been sitting in jail and was broken up after it could not pay $27.5bn (£15bn) in back taxes.

Observers have said that the company may struggle to survive, despite the assurances of Yukos lawyers that they will fight to regain control of the company.

Mr Khodorkovsky's team, who have vowed to appeal if their client is found guilty, are also settling in for a long fight.

"My feeling is that [the verdict] will take days and days," said defence lawyer Robert Amsterdam.

(BBC NEWS, 5.20.2005)