Judge Falileyev’s decision not to grant parole

At 5 pm (local time) on Friday Judge Falileyev of the Ingodinsky district court in Chita began to read out his ruling on the application for parole of Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

In turning down the application, Falileyev openly used the formulations of the prosecution when he declared that the former head of Yukos had “not taken the path of penitence”. Justifying his decision, the judge remarked that during his imprisonment Khodorkovsky had not only been punished and reprimanded for infringing prison rules and regulations: there was an incident for which he had not yet completed his punishment, viz. the episode in which the prisoner, supposedly had not kept his hands behind his back.

Judge Falileyev also considered, when Mikhail Khodorkovsky was in the Krasnokamensk penal colony, the prisoner had shown a disinclination to work and, specifically, had not expressed “a voluntary wish to learn a profession”. (Khodorkovsky has repeatedly stated that he did not refuse to do any kind of work in Krasnokamensk.)

When the judge finished reading out his decision Mikhail Khodorkovsky met his words with a bitter smile. The defence reminded Judge Falileyev that he had promised to let journalists talk to their client after the court hearing was over: the judge allotted one whole minute for all the assembled journalists and left the courtroom. As soon as the door closed behind him, Khodorkovsky’s prison escort informed media representatives and others that they had had enough time and led the prisoner out of the building.

The defence expressed their readiness to appeal against Friday’s decision.