Khodorkovsky defends right to study case against him

At a court hearing today, ex-YUKOS CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky said the request of the Prosecutor General's Office to limit the period during which he can work with the materials of the case against him, in connection with the dragging out of the process, hurt his reputation. According to Khodorkovsky, he did not miss a single opportunity to work with the materials of the case. They are brought to the prison according to a timetable.

He also expressed readiness to work with the documents on Saturdays. The businessman said he did not even go to lunch in order to have more time to study the case. "The case is big, there are many episodes, and I therefore asked my lawyers to divide the volumes among themselves," Khodorkovsky said.

For their part, the businessman's lawyers said the request of the Prosecutor General's Office was illegal and unfounded, and it violated the rights of their client.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former head of YUKOS, was arrested on October 25, 2003. The Prosecutor General's Office charged him with several counts. In particular, the businessman is accused of fraud (Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code), non-compliance with a court judgment (Article 315), tax evasion (Articles 198 and 199), causing material damage by way of fraud and abuse of trust (Article 165), document forgery (Article 327), and appropriation of someone else's property (Article 160).