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On Monday 20th April, the former YUKOS oil executive and Russian political prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky made a far-reaching impassioned statement to the court pleading innocent to the "ludicrous" charges of embezzlement and money laundering, and criticising the extent of corruption behind the new trial that he believes has harmed Russia's long-term political and economic stability.

Read Khodorkovsky's full statement about his attitude towards the charge >>

Read Khodorkovsky's full statement pleading his innocence >>

Read the presentation Khodorkovsky gave in court >>

Exposing the level of corruption behind the charges, Khodorkovsky said: "...what is taking place is not "legal nihilism" in the name of certain "political objectives" nobody understands, but specifically a corruptional conspiracy of the petty bureaucratic slime out of personal, mercenary interests, contrary to the interests of the country and of justice".

Motivations behind the new trial

Questioning motivations behind the trial, Khodorkovsky said he believed the new charges were an attempt to hide corrupt practices and the personal interests of those who benefited from an attack on him and the destruction of YUKOS:

"...those who have amassed...millions from the destruction of the company...are afraid of publicity after Planton [Lebedev] and I come out to liberty, and...those who have not yet lined their pockets, but hope to do so, [are] defending the interests of the former"

The impact of the trial on Medvedev's pledge to tackle "legal nihilism"

Khodorkovsky went on to warn of the harmful impact that these false and unsubstantiated charges will have on Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's pledge to tackle "legal nihilism":

"...in the course of the first trial, under the cover of political interest, the judicial system of Russia was raped right in front of everybody's eyes. Now they are going to try and pull this off a second time, having snuffed out the still not fully extinguished trust that President Dmitry Medvedev so wants to strengthen."

In his statement, Khodorkovsky described the new case as "an extremely significant practical symbol" of "...which way the country should be moving in the next few years; how we should be perceived in the world; how much it is allowed here in Russia for bureaucrats to privatise and monetise our state, the judicial power, and the law-enforcement system."

Fairness and transparency of the trial

In his statement, Khodorkovsky questioned the fairness and transparency of the new trial, rebuking investigators and the prosecution for intimidating witnesses, falsifying evidence, and hiding from "lawful requests to clarify the charge":

"...I feel sorry for them. These, perhaps, are decent people, falsely understanding the interests of the service, as the cleanliness of the white Karimovite uniform, hopelessly stained by the tortures of Alexanyan, the broken jaw and knocked-out teeth of Valdes-Garcia, the birth in captivity of the child of Svetlana Bakhmina and many more such feats and exploits."

"...Because of the lack of conscience and the mercenary interests of some people, other people are going to have to humiliate themselves before the entire country, but then it was they who made this choice for themselves."

"Tax terrorism" and "Raiderism" that threaten Russian long-term stability

Khodorkovsky warned that the country has seen a frenzied burst of "tax terrorism", and "raiderism with the use of administrative resources" has brought enormous harm to the country in terms of vital investment needed to ensure the stability of Russia during the current economic crisis. He said:

"...There are far more of those who will wind down their affairs, projects and will leave. People will be keeping a close watch on the trial - afraid to admit this even to themselves - but they will express their attitude with their feet and their money..."
Responding to the charge of embezzlement

Khodorkovsky describes the embezzlement charges as "ludicrous" and calls on the prosecutors to present any evidence that proves the disappearance of 350 million tonnes of oil - enough to fill "a railroad train that would encircle the earth three times over along the equator!".

"It is unsurprising that not only can they not prove [the charges], they can not even explain their delirious thought. They all, as one, are afraid to put their signatures under uncovering the fact of such as event...The disappearance of the oil from the owner was not reported, and was not established, by anybody."

Responding to the charge of money laundering

Commenting on the baseless charges of money laundering, Khodorkovsky said: "...if somebody has doubts about the source of NK YUKOS's income, income that is indicated in its consolidated reporting, income from which the company paid its contractors, workers, etc., then this person - is a patented nutcase. For the rest, any attempt to conceal the fact that the income of an oil company- this is proceeds from the realisation of oil and oil products - makes no sense."

The need to tackle corruption from the top

Khodorkovsky also said that the "struggle with corruption needs to start at the top" and praised the President stating, "Medvedev, having begun with his own declaration on incomes, has made the right first step".

For more information, please contact the MBK press office on +44 (0) 203 031 9849 or mbkpress@tetra-strategy.co.uk.