Judges 'stringing out' Russian tycoon verdict

Judges summing up the trial of Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky adjourned today with an estimated two-thirds of the marathon…

Judges summing up the trial of Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky adjourned today with an estimated two-thirds of the marathon guilty verdict still to read.

His lawyers say the judges are stringing out their judgement to kill off media interest and spare the Kremlin's embarrassment over a trial widely seen as an attempt by President Vladimir Putin's circle to crush a political rival.

Khodorkovsky (41) once Russia's richest man and founder of the now stricken Yukos oil firm, denies charges of fraud and tax evasion and has branded the trial a farce. The judges started reading their verdict on Monday.

It had been expected to take days but could now run into weeks. "By tomorrow we may reach the one-third mark," his lawyer, Anton Drel, told reporters, referring to the thick court judgement which the judges must read through before pronouncing their final verdict and sentence.

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The three judges, sitting without a jury in a Moscow court, have said Khodorkovsky committed crimes relating to all seven charges, leaving no doubt the eventual verdict will be guilty.

The legal onslaught on Khodorkovsky and his company has alarmed investors and brought expressions of concern from Washington. Before his 2003 arrest, Khodorkovsky was funding opposition political parties, which analysts say is part of the reason for his downfall.

The Kremlin has denied the trial is political. Prosecutors want Khodorkovsky and co-accused Platon Lebedev sentenced to 10 years in jail. Lebedev also denies the charges.