Ex-Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky in court

(16 Jul 2004) 1. Close up Mikhail Khodorkovsky, former CEO of the Yukos oil company, in courtroom cage 2. Mid shot Khodorkovsky and his co-defendant Platon Lebedev 3. Close up Lebedev's hands 4. Mid shot photographers pan to Khodorkovsky in cage 5. Mid shot guards 6. Close up Khodorkovsky in cage 7. Mid shot Khodorkovsky and Lebedev in cage 8. Exterior Meshchansky district court 9. Mid shot court gate closing 10. Set up shot Genrih Padva 11. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Genrih Padva, Khodorkosvky's lawyer: "Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, they both made a statement that they disagree with their charges. They consider them inconsequent, contradictory and not corresponding to reality. They both stated that they would try in the course of the court investigation to prove their innocence." 12. Mid shot journalists 13. Wide shot journalists peeking through the gate STORYLINE: Russia's richest man Mikhail Khodorkovsky, jailed for nearly eight months, made a statement in court on Friday that the charges against him were contradictory and did not correspond to reality, his lawyer told journalists. Khodorkovsky's statement was part of his first full formal response to the charges since he was arrested at gunpoint at a Siberian airport in a case that many analysts see as part of a Kremlin-driven effort to sap the billionaire's clout and possible political ambitions. "They are accusing me of not paying taxes, but I will prove this is absurd," the former CEO of the Yukos oil company said. Khodorkovsky faces an array of charges including tax evasion, fraud and forgery; a conviction could bring a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. His statement came a day after he and co-defendant Platon Lebedev entered pleas of innocence Lebedev, who has told the court he is ill, also made a statement, saying the charges against him were fabricated and that there is no proof of his guilt. The judge ordered the trial adjourned until Tuesday. The case is part of a complex web of legal actions, including a 99.4-billion-rouble (3.4 billion US dollar ) back taxes bill that Yukos, Russia's largest oil producer, says could force it into bankruptcy. Pressure on that case tightened on Thursday when the Federal Service for Financial Markets on said it had blocked the sale or re-registration of Yukos' shares in its core operating subsidiaries, Samaraneftegaz, Tomskneft and Yuganskneftegaz. The state says the legal actions against Yukos and Khodorkovsky are part of an anti-corruption drive, but critics say they are retaliation against Khodorkovsky, who has funded opposition political parties. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...