A Russian court today unexpectedly delayed the verdict in the trial of jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who faces an additional six years in prison.
The verdict, which Judge Viktor Danilkin was supposed to have started reading out at 7am Irish time, is viewed as a test of president Dmitry Medvedev's promises to reform Russia.
But when scores of reporters arrived at Moscow's Khamovnichesky court they found a brief note on the door of the court room saying the verdict had been delayed.
"The announcement of the verdict in criminal case no. 1-23/10 on charges against Khodorkovsky M.B. will... take place on December 27th, 2010 at 10.00am," the notice said.
A spokeswoman for the court confirmed the notice but gave no reason for the delay. Lawyers for Khodorkovsky said they had not been informed of the decision.
The verdict is seen as a test case of whether Medvedev has the will to tinker with one of the most controversial decisions of Vladimir Putin's eight-year presidency: the jailing of Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man.
The fate of Khodorkovsky is so politically charged that lawyers say it will be decided by the Kremlin, not the courts.
Mr Putin, Russia's most powerful politician, dominates what officials call a ruling tandem with Mr Medvedev even though as prime minister, he is the president's subordinate. Both men say they will decide together who will run for president in 2012.
Mr Medvedev has aired ambitious plans to modernise Russia and improve the rule of law but has made little visible progress, and Kremlin critics dismiss his statements as window-dressing for Mr Putin's continued rule.
The verdict and sentencing in Khodorkovsky's second trial will be closely watched because his current eight-year prison sentence for large-scale fraud and tax evasion ends in October 2011, less than six months before the election.
Reuters