Yuri Schmidt responds to prosecutor Karimov’s letter.

Note: In his letter Salavat Karimov stated that by refusing to sign procedural documents Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s lawyers had violated the rights of their client. The lawyers were recommended to stop resisting the investigation, and so on.



After familiarizing myself with your letter of February 6, 2007, as well as with the notification of an extension of the investigations as of the same day (though only after the working day was over), I would like to state the following:

Your letter contains a number of incorrect accusations against Mr. Khodorkovsky’s defense lawyers. It is written, furthermore, in a hectoring and unacceptable tone of voice.

Since I have committed no ‘actions aimed at impeding the investigation of the criminal case’, I have no intention to explain myself to you. As for ‘the legal interests of the client [defendant Khodorkovsky]’, for whom you show a hypocritical concern, violations of his rights and interests have been - and are being - committed, not by us, but by the investigative teams headed by you. I find it unnecessary here to set out the facts in question, since we have repeatedly written about the numerous violations of the defendant’s rights in our motions, appeals and depositions.

In a statement of December 29, 2006, for example, we asked you to agree with the defence the schedule and remit of the investigation, and you seemed prepared to meet us halfway, since in your letter in response you provided us in due time with quite a reasonable schedule. In January the last working day was to be Tuesday the 30th; and February 5, 6 and 7 were indicated as days for the continuation of the investigation.

The investigative team, however, immediately started to trample on this schedule. Hardly had my two colleagues and I returned to St. Petersburg when we learned from the lawyers who had remained behind in Chita, Levina E.L. and Dyatlev D.M., that they had been told the investigation was to be extended, to take in January 31, February 1 and 2, 2007. The notification informing me that that the investigation involving the participation of Mr. Khodorkovsky would be going forward from January 1, 2007 onward was faxed to me in St. Petersburg at 8.27 on the evening of January 30.

In the aforementioned statement, as well as in a restatement addressed to you on January 25, 2007, I enumerated the reasons why I was asking you to notify us in due time about both the dates and the subject-matter of the investigation as it progressed. It is probably unnecessary to demonstrate in detail that, given the distance from St. Petersburg to Chita, one has to obtain tickets, book a hotel, organize expenses and take the necessary amount of prescription drugs – all in advance - and that my request was for this reason more than simply a legal one.

Thus, yesterday evening we were told about about a prolongation of the investigation for yet another week. Given the chaotic planning of its work by the investigative team, I can have no guarantee at all that, come February 15, I won’t receive yet another notification, and so on ad infinitum.

As things are, I can say that I’m determined not to carry out any illegal requirements. From now on, I herewith ask to be notified about any forthcoming phase of the investigation within a term provided by law and with due regard to the time taken up by travel. If the investigative team forcefully impedes my departure and that of Saikin L.P. - which would come as no surprise after the illegal detention at Domodedovo airport of myself and a group of lawyers on February 4, 2007, as ordered, I believe, by yourself - then you will also have to take me by force to the place where the investigation is to be conducted. Besides this, you will also have to find us a hotel, pay for our lodging and give us a travel allowance.

February 7, 2007.

Lawyer Schmidt Y.M.