Upon the lawyer's request the court decided to consider the appeal filed by the defence in the open.
The defence had appealed to the court of appellate jurisdiction for reversal of judgement made by Moscow' Basmanny Court on December 23, 2003, Genrikh Padva, the businessman's lawyer, was quoted by a RIA Novosti correspondent as saying.
The Basmanny Court satisfied the motion by the Prosecutor's General Office extending Khodorkovsky's period under guard until March 25, 2004. The court agreed with a representative of the Prosecutor's Office that Mikhail Khodorkovsky could flee if released.
The oil tycoon was detained in Novosibirsk's airport of Tolmachyovo on October 25 and transferred to Moscow on the same day, where the Basmanny Court sanctioned his arrest.
The Prosecutor's General Office is charging Khodorkovsky on the basis of 7 articles of the Penal Code, particularly with embezzlement on a large scale and tax evasion.
