A guilty verdict for former Yukos oil major CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev in a second case may blemish the entire Russian judicial system, Khodorkovsky's lawyer said on Thursday.
Last week prosecutors demanded 14 years in prison for Khodorkovsky and Lebedev on charges of stealing 218 million tons of oil from a subsidiary company of Yukos between 1998 and 2003. The prosecution earlier reduced by 131 million tons the total volume of 35o tons of oil allegedly stolen.
Khodorkovsky and Lebedev's lawyer, Alexei Miroshnichenko, said numerous regional courts had defined the legitimacy of the purchase and sale contracts on oil produced by Yukos's subsidiaries.
"Thus, the courts' decisions rule out the stealing of oil by Khodorkovsky and Lebedev," Miroshnichenko said, adding that in case a guilty verdict is passed the entire Russian judicial system would be blemished.
On Wednesday, Khodorkovsky said the accusations against him were "absurd." The ousted oligarch thanked the prosecutors "as thanks to them everyone is convinced that we are innocent."
The two former businessmen are already serving eight-year sentences for fraud and tax evasion.
MOSCOW, October 28 (RIA Novosti)
