Khodorkovsky complaint upheld in Chita

The Chita Region Court has upheld the complaint by Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s defence team against unlawful actions by the investigators and has returned the case to the Ingodinsky district court for re-examination.

At its hearing on Wednesday the judicial collegium of the Chita Region Court concluded that the court of the first instance had not given due attention to the arguments of Khodorkovsky’s defence lawyers concerning the unlawful actions (inaction) of the investigators.

As the Interfax-Sibir correspondent reports from the courtroom, the main objection of the lawyers was that for more than two years the investigators did not acquaint the former head of Yukos with the documentation of the new criminal case.

“For more than two years the criminal case against Mikhail Khodorkovsky was investigated in secret and was concluded ten days after the charges were made,” attorney Boris Gruzd told Interfax-Sibir. “for two years the investigators gathered evidence without informing the defence.”

(Interfax, 18.06.2008)