Khodorkovsky & Lebedev Communications Center

The European Court of Human Rights' hearing on the case of YUKOS Oil Company v. Russian Federation will take place in Strasbourg on 14 January 2010, beginning at 09:00 (Central European Time). It will probably last about four hours.

It is unlikely that there will be a verdict on the day, but this will be the first time in more than 6 years of litigation that representatives of both sides will make their arguments face-to-face. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is an independent judicial body under the auspices of the Council of Europe, which has 47 member states, including the Russian Federation.

To get to this point - a hearing on the merits of the case - the ECHR had to have declared most of Yukos's complaints ‘admissible', which it does in less than 5% of the applications it receives.

Spaces in the courtroom are available on a first-come-first-served basis. Media wishing to attend in person should contact Stefano Piedimonte of the ECHR at Stefano.Piedimonte@echr.coe.int.

Yukos will hold a press conference for journalists following the hearing at about 14:00 (Central European Time) at a location to be announced later. The following individuals will be made available via conference call for comment:

• Steven Theede, Former Chief Executive Officer
• Bruce Misamore, Former Chief Financial Officer
• Yuri Beilin, Former Deputy Chief Executive Officer (who will also conduct interviews in Russian)

Telephone numbers for the conference call will be announced before the hearing.

Background information on the case is available at: www.yukos-echr-claim.com.

This portal is a comprehensive source of information about the case and includes:

• Summary: The Start, Success and Fall of Yukos
• The Expropriation Process: Spurious Tax Demands
• The Paralysis and Destruction of Yukos
• Claim in the European Court of Human Rights

For more information contact:
Claire Davidson
Mob. +44 (0) 7767 351 433
cdavidson@gardantcommunications.com