Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, major shareholders in the Yukos company, are both charged on the same counts, and their cases should therefore be handled by the court together, Schmidt said. Otherwise, a verdict against one of the men may become prejudicial for the other (in which event the court will have to accept, without any verification or evidence, those facts that have been established by the court decision on the former case), he explained.
Khodorkovsky is charged on eleven counts of financial misconduct, punishable under seven articles of Russia's Penal Code, but he denies any wrongdoing, Schmidt reminded the media. Court hearings on his case will likely get underway in June or July, and the defense will be pushing for an open trial, he said. The defendant would like it to be that way, he said.
