Khodorkovsky's Lawyer Says Crackdown Unjustified

Information about numerous attempts by lawyers of Mikhail Khodorkovsky to take prohibited items out of the Tishina prison is not true, lawyer Anton Drel said in an interview.

According to government officials, the prison administration was forced to step up control over Khodorkovsky's lawyers because prohibited materials were constantly seized from them. Anton Drel said that he had not heard about anything of the kind with the exception of the single incident involving Olga Artyukhova. During that incident, Justice Ministry representatives insisted that the lawyer received a certain Khodorkovsky note aimed at counter-acting the investigation.