RUSSIA: COURT IN MOSCOW REFUSES BAIL TO FORMER YUKOS OIL CHIEF MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY

Record ID: 344960

  • Title: RUSSIA: COURT IN MOSCOW REFUSES BAIL TO FORMER YUKOS OIL CHIEF MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY
  • Date: 11th November 2003
  • Summary: (W6) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (NOVEMBER 11, 2003) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) 1. TILT: EXTERIOR OF COURT BUILDING 0.07 2. CU: SIGN "MOSCOW CITY COURT" 0.12 3. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) KHODORKOVSKY LAWYER ANTON DREL, SAYING: "Mikhail Khodorkovsky will remain in prison. The defence presented the court with the request to release him on bail, it also presented the court with personal guarantees of bail from more than 40 people, among them Boris Nemtsov, Grigory Yavlinsky, Alexei Melnikov, many deputies of the state Duma, also human rights activists such as Lyudmila Alexeeva, Alexei Simonov, also we presented the court with bail guarantees from over 300 YUKOS staff. Also the defence said at the court that in the course of the investigation so far Mikhail Khodorkovsky continues to cooperate with the investigators and gives evidence. The court did not announce the amount of the bail required, probably they decided that they don't even have to consider it." 0.52 4. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY'S LAWYER ANTON DREL SURROUNDED BY JOURNALISTS/ DREL, SAYING: "Yes, he [Khodorkovsky] expressed wish to be present in the court, and the law allows court hearings to be televised and open. And you all could see it. But he (Khodorkovsky) wasn't allowed to be present in the court. You all heard the reasons by the Prosecutor's office why the hearing should be closed - they explained it by the necessity to keep the investigation secret - what is secret about it they didn't explain." 1.27 5. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) KHODORKOVSKY LAWYER ANTON DREL, SAYING: "After we hear Khodorkovsky's opinion, the defence will make the decision about their further actions, and the (appeal to) supreme court, first about the presidium of the Moscow city court and then may be also about the European court of Justice in Strasbourg. But I didn't say that we have already made this decision." 1.46 6. CAMERA OPERATOR 1.50 7. ANTON DREL SURROUNDED BY MEDIA TALKING ON THE PHONE OUTSIDE THE COURT BUILDING 2.01 (W6) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) 8. PAN DOWN/CU: YUKOS HEADQUARTERS IN MOSCOW AT NIGHT; YUKOS LOGO (2 SHOTS) 2.17 9. INTERIOR OF YUKOS OFFICE AND KHODORKOVSKY PORTRAITS ON THE WALLS (5 SHOTS) 2.39 (W6) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (FILE) (REUTERS) 10. VARIOUS: FORMER YUKOS CEO MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY WITH CHILDREN AT YUKOS-SPONSORED CHARITY EVENT (2 SHOTS) 3.01 11. FORMER YUKOS CEO MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY SPEAKING AT MEETING 3.10 (W6) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (FILE) (REUTERS) 12. MASKED POLICE AT OFFICES HOLDING YUKOS'S DOCUMENT ARCHIVES (2 SHOTS) 3.16 (W6) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (RECENT - OCTOBER 25, 2003) (REUTERS) (NIGHTSHOTS) 13. POLICE VAN TAKING MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY TO JAIL IN MOSCOW 3.37 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 26th November 2003 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
  • Country: Russia
  • Reuters ID: LVAAZH6XUBSYNFJPJYXZ9BOYSUB7
  • Story Text: Russian court refuses bail to former YUKOS chief Mikhail
    Khodorkovsky.


    Russian oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky was denied
    bail by a Moscow court on Tuesday (November 11) and ordered
    to remain in prison pending an investigation into charges
    of fraud and tax evasion.

    The ruling was issued after a closed hearing at which
    Khodorkovsky, former chief executive of YUKOS, appeared
    briefly by video link. It was the first time he had been
    seen in public since his dramatic arrest on October 25.

    As the session opened, Khodorkovsky smiled wryly when
    the judge said the hearing, to rule whether he could be
    detained further or released on bail, should be closed and
    ordered journalists and observers to leave.

    Khodorkovsky, who faces seven charges of tax evasion
    and massive fraud, answered questions confidently.

    It was the first time he has been seen publicly since
    he was arrested at gunpoint and dragged off a plane when it
    touched down to refuel in Siberia.

    Khodorkovsky, rated Russia's richest man with a
    personal fortune estimated at $8 billion, was filmed behind
    bars in prison and confirmed his name to the court.

    "I support the position of my lawyers," said
    Khodorkovsky, whose prosecution analysts say is prompted by
    Kremlin worries over his political ambitions.

    The Prosecutor General's Office had already said it
    wanted to keep Khodorkovsky in jail until December 30 and
    few had expected the court to bow to the request to release
    him.

    Lawyers for Platon Lebedev, a close ally of
    Khodorkovsky and a fellow YUKOS shareholder who was
    arrested in July, have failed repeatedly to secure his
    release on bail.

    Khodorkovsky's arrest has shaken confidence among
    investors in Russia and triggered concerns it may signal
    increased state interference in business.

    YUKOS shares, weak all day, fell two more percentage
    points after the court declared the hearing closed. The
    shares were down 3.2 percent at 11.40 U.S. dollars at
    1455GMT.

    The conflict blew up in July, when police arrested
    Lebedev.

    A few days after Khodorkovsky's arrest, prosecutors
    froze a 40 percent block of shares in YUKOS belonging to
    Khodorkovsky and his allies. Lawyers acting for
    Khodorkovsky are believed to be planning a separate appeal
    against that decision.

    Analysts say the Kremlin has instigated the
    investigation to punish the billionaire for his political
    activities and strong parliamentary lobbying to frustrate
    moves by the Kremlin to increase taxation of oil companies.


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