Slow Start to 'show Trial' of Russian Oil Chief

Russia's richest man, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, went on trial yesterday for tax evasion and fraud in what Kremlin critics dismissed as the first stage of a "show trial".

The former boss of the Yukos oil company was handcuffed to a prison guard and rushed into the Meshchansky court in Moscow amid high security, with protesters and journalists crowding into and around the small building.

The president, Vladimir Putin, has pledged justice will run its course in an "open trial", yet the case has become heavily politicised since Mr Khodorkovsky's arrest at gunpoint on a Siberian runway last October.

The court heard a plea from Mr Khodorkovsky's lawyers that he was being held illegally and should be released.

Mr Khodorkovsky said later, according to Interfax: "A measure like house arrest is hard to reject. My case is a precedent for justice in general, and it will lead to hundreds of people being held in detention before their trials."

An hour into the trial one of the judges, Irina Kolesnikova, agreed to postpone proceedings to allow one of Mr Khodorkovsky's lawyers, Genrikh Padva, to recover from an eye operation.

The court heard he would be fit by June 21, but no date for the next hearing was set.

The court ruled the press and a court artist, but not television cameras, could be admitted to future hearings of the trial, which is likely to last more than three months.

Defence lawyers had been expected to ask for an adjournment to give them time to read a revised prosecution case that merged charges against Mr Khodorkovsky with those against another Yukos shareholder, Platon Lebedev.

The two men have both been charged with a complex fraud related to the privatisation of a state fertiliser company in 1994.

Mr Khodorkovsky told the court he had only been given the latest version of the joint accusations last week.

The trial marks the culmination of nine months of pressure from Russian authorities on the energy empire Mr Khodorkovsky created from privatisation of state assets in the 90s.

The Kremlin and many ordinary Russians believe the billionaire acquired his wealth through tax evasion scams.

Yet critics of the Kremlin say the administration is simply seeking to dismantle one of its richest opponents. They claim Mr Khodorkovsky's presidential ambitions and funding for opposition parties singled him out for prosecution.

Yukos declared this week that it is nearing bankruptcy. Prosecutors have frozen the company's assets whilst presenting it with a £2bn tax bill.

The state-backed gas giant, Gazprom, has expressed interest in buying up some of the shares, which have fallen by 13.5% this week.

The defendants' two lawyers, relatives, translators, and 10 armed soldiers and nine journalists were packed into the small courtroom. Mr Khodorkovsky and Mr Lebedev sat in a cage to the left of the judges.

As the 11 charges against him were read, Mr Khodorkovsky appeared to suppress a smirk. He often glanced at his mother, Marina, and smiled. He also joked with his lawyers.

Mr Lebedev appeared drained, often gripping the bars of the cage for support as he replied to questions from the three judges. He twice asked for a brief break. The court later declined a request that he should be bailed on health grounds.

Robert Amsterdam, Mr Khodorkovsky's Canadian lawyer, said later: "Attorney client privilege has been denied, and despite a few members of the public and journalists being admitted, the process is not in compliance with European standards."