The proceedings for appeals filed by defence lawyers representing Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev began today 40 minutes late, at 11:40 am in the Moscow City Court. The two appellants were brought to the court in an armored van and placed behind a glass and metal enclosure. In keeping with recent public statements he has made, Platon Lebedev shared with the court that he had been brought to the proceedings against his will.

While Messrs. Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were in attendance, none of their respective lawyers were present. When asked why his lawyers were not present, Platon Lebedev answered that he had prohibited them from participating. He demanded to be taken from the courtroom and Presiding Judge Vyacheslav Tarasov granted Mr. Lebedev’s request to be removed.

In the months leading up to the appeal, Mr. Khodorkovsky appointed Genrikh Padva, the lead lawyer in the trial held at the Meshchansky Courthouse, as his only authorized representative. However, Mr. Padva did not appear before the court. When asked where his legal counsel was, Mr. Khodorkovsky explained that Padva had been admitted to a hospital to have a biopsy performed. He said, “Genrikh Padva is having a biopsy taken today. The results will come through on Friday or Monday [16 or 19 September].”

When asked by the judge whether or not he objected to proceedings, Mr. Khodorkovsky responded, “I don’t think I can defend my own interests at an appeal hearing in the Moscow City Court without a lawyer familiar with the case.” He added that he sent a letter to the court yesterday, September 13, after he was told that his lead counsel had been admitted to the hospital the previous day.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky then told the court that he would find a replacement for Mr. Padva if he were unable to continue to serve as defence counsel. “I am drawing up and will sign an agreement with another of the lawyers who represented me in the court of the first instance,” the appellant said. Judge Tarasov also asked him why his other lawyers were not present in response to which the defendant said that the lawyers were compelled to split the workload of the appeal preparations due to the very short timeframe in which they were allowed to review the verdict transcripts and other materials.

Prosecutor Dmitry Shokhin responded with disgust. “The failure of the lawyers to appear at today’s hearing is a banal attempt to drag out the court hearing,” Shokhin opined. Judge Tarasov announced that Mr. Padva’s treatment could last approximately six weeks, but he would only give a maximum adjournment of one month.

Elena Levina and Denis Dyatlev, defence lawyers for Mikhail Khodorkovsky, eventually appeared in court in response to phone calls placed by court representatives after the court pressured the former Yukos chief executive to produce some legal representation. Both explained to the court that Mikhail Khodorkovsky had only commissioned Genrikh Padva to represent him in the appeal.

Mr. Khodorkovsky explained to the court that he had prepared a statement for the court, but would wait until his defence counsel presented their case to the court before sharing his thoughts. Judge Tarasov asked him to request the presence of his entire legal team when the court would next convene. After Mr. Khodorkovsky expressed concern that not all of his team would likely be let into the courthouse even though he had a list of the lawyers that were representing his case before the European Court of Human Rights, Judge Tarasov replied ironically, “This is not Strasbourg here.”

The court adjourned until 2 pm. When the court reconvened, it was announced that the trial would continue at 4 pm to determine the possibility of Genrikh Padva to participate in the proceedings. When the trial reconvened at 4 pm, Judge Tarasov announced an adjournment until Monday, September 19 at 11 am.

The atmosphere outside the Moscow City Courthouse was somewhat chaotic, not dissimilar to the circumstances present at the opening and conclusion of the trial that took place in the Meshchansky Courthouse. Approximately 300 police were present, of which half were riot police brought in to control the flow of individuals into and out of the area leading up to the courthouse. Protestors supporting and opposing Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev were present in the vicinity of the courthouse, although they were separated to ensure no fighting broke out. As was the case during the reading of the verdict in the previous trial, active electronic countermeasures were used to make cellular communication difficult.