Will Khodorkovsky get a fair trial?

By Hugh Fraser BBC World Service reporter in Moscow

Mr Khodorkovsky's counsel is critical of the way his client is treated.

When Russia's richest man, Mikhael Khodorkovsky, finally faces trial on charges of fraud and tax evasion, the eyes of the world will be turned toward the Moscow court.

But it is likely that outside observers will not be able to see what goes on inside the courtroom.

So far, all the preliminary hearings have been held behind closed doors.

This has caused critics to query whether Mr Khodorkovsky, or indeed anyone else, can expect fair treatment by the courts in modern-day Russia.

State secrets

Secret trials are commonplace in Russia, observed Karinna Moskalenko, a prominent human rights lawyer who heads the International Protection Agency in Moscow.

Perhaps you also remember Brezhnev's constitution? That a was not a bad book either. Anton Drel Mikhael Khodorkovsky's counsel

Natalia Vichnyakova, spokeswoman for the General Prosecutor's office, insisted that this is not in breach of democratic principles.

"Are you are telling me that you have no closed trials in your country?" she asked.

In Russia, it is up to the judge alone to decide whether a trial should be a secret affair, she explained.

"I suspect that the authorities will find a reason to close Mr Khodorkovsky's trial, under the pretext, for example, that this is a case concerning state secrets," predicted Ms Moskalenko.

Ms Moskalenko believes that fair trials are rare, and when they happen it is "only by chance".

High profile court cases tend to have political overtones, and the judges, nearly all of whom are former prosecutors or police officers, "just know what decision to take", she insisted.

"Nobody has even to tell them. They just know".

Letter of the law

At a lavish and heavily guarded dacha outside Moscow, Mr Khodorkovsky's counsel, Anton Drel, stood stubbornly firm, raising a blue book above his head and declaring : "It is not a bad book".

Indeed, the problem with the "Russian Criminal Procedure Code for 2003" is not the words written in it, but the way it is implemented, Mr Drel implied.

"Perhaps you also remember Brezhnev's constitution? That a was not a bad book either," he stated, referring to the Soviet Union's written constitution that was infamous as one of the most liberal in the world - in words, but not in observance.

No reason

Flicking through the blue book, Mr Drel pointed to the section on granting bail to suspects.

Russia's use of pre-trial detention is often excessive, human rights lawyer says.

He claims that the court had no grounds for refusing his client bail.

In court, Mr Drel had read out a petition from 50 prominent people in public life who promised to stand surety for his client.

He had also read out a letter from Mr. Khodorkovsky's wife, Inna.

And yet, he claimed, the judge responded by announcing that bail had been refused, even though he had just answered "yes" to every point in the letter.

The judge, Mr Drel said, did not give any reasons for the refusal.

Mr Drel's account cannot be independently verified because the bail hearing was held behind closed doors, and neither can his claim that the Prosecutor General himself, Vladimir Ustinov, has indicated that the eventual trial would be held in secret.

Mr Ustinov's spokeswoman insisted that he is not pressing for a closed trial and that he would like it to be held in the open.

Secure legal system?

The denial of bail to suspects is a common practice in Russia, according to Ms Moskalenko.

"When our people spend two or three years in pre-trial detention, it is against all my understanding of the presumption of innocence," she said.

The practice violates the European Convention on Human Rights to which Russia is a signatory, Ms Moskalenko said.

Intimidation by the Russian security forces is another gripe commonly voiced by Russian defence lawyers.

Ms Moskalenko described how, when visiting a client, she was dragged from her car by a paramilitary officer working for the Ministry of Interior.

She said she struggled with him as he seized her legal files from her arms, and in the process she was injured.

Initially she was refused treatment at the local hospital because doctors did not want to become involved in a case involving the authorities.

Mr Drel also said the security forces have raided his office.

Pointing to some empty shelves, he insisted that "they took everything that was written in English".

According to Mr Drel, the seized files included the signed executive copy of the documents confirming the merger between Yukos, the giant oil company formally headed by Mr Khodorkovsky, and its rival Sibneft, run by Roman Abramovich.