The only lawyer with whom Khodorkovsky, 42, had signed a contract was Genrikh Padva, who is currently in the hospital.
When other members of the defense team, summoned by the court, said they were not entitled to defend their client at Monday's session, Prosecutor Dmitry Shokhin replied: "They [lawyers] have no right to refuse. It is against the law." He said Khodorkovsky's refusal to sign contracts with the other lawyers was "irrelevant to the proceedings," adding that the defense was deliberately delaying the hearing.
Padva said by phone that he would be able to return to work in two to three days. If not, Khodorkovsky said lawyer Yuri Shmidt was best prepared for the hearing. On Tuesday, the court will decide whether Shmidt may represent Khodorkovsky.
Another Khodorkovsky lawyer, Anton Drel, said the whole plan to rush the appeals hearing was linked to Khodorkovsky's decision to run in State Duma, Russia's lower chamber of parliament, elections in December.
"The authorities have apparently instructed the court to prevent Khodorkovsky from being registered as a candidate," Drel said following the session.
If the court grants the appeal, Khodorkovsky will be able to run in the parliamentary by-election. If the court rejects the appeal, Khodorkovsky's sentence will come into force, preventing him from running.
According to Drel, Khodorkovsky sent his candidacy application to election authorities through the head of the detention center, Matrosskaya Tishina, last week. The deadline for applications is October 4.
Khodorkovsky also told the court that a person with an infection had been brought to his cell last week. "On the day after the court session of September 14, an infected man was pushed into three out of ten cells on our floor," Khodorkovsky said, but did not elaborate on the type of infection.
Khodorkovsky said Platon Lebedev, his business partner who was also sentenced in May to nine years in jail for fraud and tax evasion, was in one of the three cells too. On September 16, the cells were placed under quarantine, which prevented Khodorkovsky from meeting with his lawyers.
Lebedev earlier refused to attend the appeals hearing or to be represented by lawyers, saying he did not expect any justice in the outcome anyway.
