MOSCOW, March 29 -- Russian prosecutors on Tuesday asked a Moscow court to sentence the founder of Yukos Oil Co., Mikhail Khodorkovsky, to a maximum 10-year prison sentence for tax evasion and fraud.
Prosecutors also sought a 10-year term for Platon Lebedev, a Yukos minority shareholder who is facing similar charges and being tried with Khodorkovsky. Both men have denied the accusations.
"The term was fully expected," said Khodorkovsky's attorney, Genrikh Padva.
The state prosecutor, Dmitri Shokhin, began describing the evidence against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev on Monday, ending his statement Tuesday by announcing the sentence the prosecution would seek for each of the seven charges.
The defense has repeatedly argued that the trial is rigged, calling it a political exercise to punish Khodorkovsky, once said by Forbes magazine to be Russia's wealthiest man with a $15 billion fortune. Many Russians see the case as Kremlin retaliation for Khodorkovsky's role in politics, including the funding of groups opposing President Vladimir Putin.
The two defendants, sitting in the courtroom's holding cage, showed no reaction to the prosecutor's statement Tuesday; Lebedev did a crossword puzzle.
