Russian judges today inched their way through a marathon guilty verdict in oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky's fraud trial, in a finale the defence said was being strung out to spare the Kremlin embarrassment.
Khodorkovsky's lawyers said judges wanted as few people as possible to witness the climax of a trial which is widely seen as a Kremlin attempt to crush a political rival and which has tarnished President Vladimir Putin's international image.
"My feeling is that it will take days and days," lawyer Robert Amsterdam told reporters. "But as soon as the press loses interest it may speed up dramatically and there could be a verdict."
The panel of three judges adjourned until 10.30am (local time) tomorrow after a third day reading a judgment that detailed the 41-year-old billionaire's crimes, leaving no doubt about an eventual guilty verdict.
But they did not deliver a formal verdict and sat for under four hours, making only a small dent in the 15 cm (6 inch) high pile of papers which contains their minutely-detailed verdict.
Khodorkovsky is on trial with business associate Platon Lebedev on charges of fraud, tax evasion and other crimes.
Since he was arrested at gunpoint 17 months ago in a raid on his private jet in Siberia, his YUKOS oil firm has been crippled by a $27.5 billion back-tax claim.
Khodorkovsky had been funding political parties, which was partly the reason for his downfall, say analysts. The Kremlin denies the case is political. Investors have been spooked, fearing they could be the next targets of a YUKOS-style official onslaught and the US State Department this week repeated concerns about the case.
Khodorkovsky spent the start of today's session smiling and mouthing words at his wife, Inna, who was sitting about one metre from the metal cage from where Khodorkovsky and Lebedev - who say they are innocent - listened to the judgment.