Khodorkovsky & Lebedev Communications Center

Kirill Rogov, an independent observer, compares the first and the second trials against Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev to past repressions when people were thrown into jail for crimes they did not commit.

Rogov said that: "The release upon serving full term of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, whose every statement shows he does not regret any of his actions, neither he sees thinks he had failed, will massively hit the whole system [of repression]."

He added that those in power will lose the battle, in a political sense, because if Khodorkovsky is pronounced guilty in the second case, it will mean he was innocent in the first case. On the other hand, they cannot afford to let the businessman free in autumn 2011, when his full jail term terminates. Rogov believes that the jailed businessman will be offered these two options: either to be scared of those who want to convict him again or be thankful to those who will help him avoid the second term.