Russia tycoon's appeal snags on lawyer's health

Jailed Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky sparred with the prosecution on Wednesday at the start of his appeal against conviction for fraud, with his lawyers expecting the appeal to be quickly quashed.
A member of Khodorkovsky's legal team expected the Moscow court to uphold the conviction and nine-year jail sentence in the next few days to thwart a bid for parliament by the oil magnate that could embarrass the Kremlin.
But after Khodorkovsky's main lawyer was admitted to hospital the three judges adjourned the hearing until September 19. This might theoretically allow him to register, but subsequent confirmation of his conviction would end his parliamentary bid.
Khodorkovsky, who built up the oil giant YUKOS and was once Russia's richest man, was sentenced in May for tax evasion and fraud after a campaign widely seen to have been mounted by the Kremlin to neutralise him as a political rival. Since then, the 42-year-old magnate has said he will run in a December 4 Moscow by-election for a seat in the State Duma (parliament).
He is allowed to do this while his appeal is pending. But he will not be able to run if his conviction is confirmed.
With September 19 the earliest Khodorkovsky could register as a candidate, some of his legal team had suggested the appeal would be quashed within the next few days.
But judges suspended the hearing until then after his main lawyer, Genrikh Padva, was admitted to hospital and Khodorkovsky refused to accept any other defence counsel. He argued that only Padva was qualified to defend him in court.
The tycoon, dressed in a suede jacket, jeans and a navy polo shirt, listened to the hearing from inside a metal cage with high panels of reinforced glass in front.
Robert Amsterdam, a member of his legal team, had earlier predicted the court would reject the appeal by September 19 to halt his bid to stand in the by-election in southern Moscow. "The names go in on the 19th. So they want to have him declared convicted and therefore not able to run for the Duma by then," Amsterdam told reporters.
Amsterdam said the Kremlin had built Khodorkovsky up to be an enemy of the people and it would be embarrassing for the authorities if Khodorkovsky ran a successful campaign.