Former Yukos oil major CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky said on Wednesday the judge in the trial over new charges against him and his business partner Platon Lebedev had no choice but to bring a "not-guilty" verdict.
"I would like to thank the prosecutors as thanks to them everyone is convinced that we are innocent," he said.
I understand that it is difficult to bring a not-guilty verdict in Moscow's courts. But I beg you to see the true value of their efforts," Khodorkovsky told judge Viktor Danilkin.
Prosecutors have demanded 14 years in prison for Khodorkovsky and Lebedev on charges of stealing 218 million tons of oil from a subsidiary company of Yukos between 1998 and 2003. The prosecution has since reduced by 131 million tons the volume of oil.
Khodorkovsky has called the accusations "absurd."
The two former businessmen are already serving eight-year sentences for fraud and tax evasion.
MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti)
