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Yukos oil chief trial verdict date


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Yukos founder Khodorkovsky is being tried for tax evasion and fraud.
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MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- The trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky -- the former head of Yukos oil and once Russia's richest man -- has adjourned, and judges will announce the verdict on April 27.

Khodorkovsky -- who has been charged with tax evasion, fraud and embezzlement and has been jailed since 2003 -- on Monday made his last statement in the hearing in which he defended his innocence.

Yukos had been the object of a lengthy campaign by prosecutors and tax authorities, which company officials say is the Kremlin's punishment for Khodorkovsky's politics.

Khodorkovsky, who has criticized President Vladimir Putin, funded opposition political parties and expressed a desire to run for office some day. Putin has said the case is part of a crackdown on corruption, and he denies political motivation.

Reading from typed sheets of paper, Khodorkovsky stood and addressed the court, saying that two years ago, when the first arrests connected with Yukos oil company began, he could have left Russia.

But he said he stayed in the country "because I love Russia." He sees it as a country that could become a thriving nation.

Khodorkovsky -- who went through the charges and called them a "farce" -- said the prosecutors could not prove anything.

With a personal and an emotional note, he ended his 39-minute speech, witnessed by his elderly parents sitting in the courtroom.

He thanked them for going through everything with him, and he thanked his wife and his supporters.

Also, he said he did not do anything in his career to become "popular," but he maintained he did "what my conscience and my upbringing told me to do. I wanted to create a civil society."

At the end of his speech, applause broke out in the packed courtroom.

His co-defendant Platon Lebedev refused to make final comments and called the entire proceeding a sham. He said he would not lower himself to the level of the prosecutors.

The presiding judge said the verdict will be announced later this month by the three-judge panel.

Prosecutors last month demanded maximum 10-year prison sentences for Khodorkovsky and Lebedev.

Yukos, once the largest Russian oil producer, has been dismantled to pay off a US$28 billion (€21 billion) tax bill.

Putin has repeatedly contended that the investigations of Khodorkovsky and Yukos targeted a rotten business empire and its owners.

CNN Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty contributed to this report.


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