MOSCOW (AP) — Jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky gave an impassioned final address to a Moscow court Tuesday, telling the judge that the fate of the entire nation rests on the verdict he is expected to deliver Dec. 15.
Khodorkovsky, 47, was Russia’s richest man when he was arrested in 2003 on charges of tax evasion by his now-defunct oil company, Yukos, and the eight-year sentence he received was widely seen as punishment for his decision to challenge the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, by funding opposition parties and dangling jewels of the Russian economy in front of foreign investors.
Khodorkovsky is a year from release but is being tried on a second raft of fraud and embezzlement charges that could keep him behind bars until 2017. He and his business partner Platon Lebedev are accused of stealing more than 218 million tons of oil — worth some $27 billion — produced by Yukos from 1998 to 2003.
Khodorkovsky told the judge Tuesday that his decision would have significant repercussions before the hearing was adjourned until Dec.15.
“Your honor, you’re deciding the fate of more than two people; the fate of every citizen of our country is at stake,” Khodorkovsky, dressed in a black polo shirt, said unwaveringly to stony-faced Judge Viktor Danilkin.
“It’s not me and Platon Lebedev who are now standing trial, it’s all the Russian people.”
Critics charge the second case is designed to keep Khodorkovsky incarcerated at least until after Russia’s 2012 presidential election, in which Putin could take part. The case is being closely watched to gauge whether Russia has strengthened its commitment to the rule of law as President Dmitry Medvedev has promised.
Khodorkovsky alluded to the atmosphere of intimidation that pervades the country’s judiciary during his final address.
“I can understand you must be feeling scared now,” Khodorkovsky told Danilkin. “I wish you courage.”
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