General Prosecutor's Office on case of former YUKOS head

The criminal case against former YUKOS head Mikhail Khodorkovsky will be considered in the shortest possible time and submitted to court, Russian Deputy General Prosecutor Vladimir Kolesnikov announced today. "Judging from present evidence and accusation documents against Khodorkovky, his case will be considered in the shortest possible time," the official was quoted as saying. He explained that the investigation was to continue for 2 months but its term could be prolonged for 12 months.

Commenting on the arrest of Khodorkovsky, Kolesnikov supported a court ruling to keep the accused in the pre-trial incarceration jail. He called this decision grounded and noted that Khodorkovky's lawyers definitely had the right to appeal against this decision. The official noted that a virtual campaign to support Khodorkovsky had started after the oligarch's arrest, and a lot of politicians said the arrest was inexpedient "However, the same politicians voted for a respective clause in the Criminal Code stipulating imprisonment of up to 10 years for such crimes and pre-trial incarceration," the Deputy General Prosecutor stressed.