By Country / Russia
Khodorkovsky Says New Charges A 'Shameful Farce'
February 07, 2007
Khodorkovsky and Lebedev are being held in this remand prison in Chita (ITAR-TASS)
In a statement on his website today, the former head of the now-bankrupt Yukos oil company said he had no doubt that "falsified evidence" and "testimony by perjurers" would quickly result in a new guilty verdict for him.
On February 5, prosecutors charged Khodorkovsky with money laundering and embezzlement. The same charges were also filed against Platon Lebedev, the former head of the Yukos financial arm.
Both men are already serving eight-year prison sentences for fraud and tax evasion.
The case against Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, was seen as a politically driven attack on an ambitious businessman who had become critical of President Vladimir Putin.
(with material from Interfax, AFP)