Mikhail Khodorkovsky in Moscow. (Reuters)

Moscow, Dec. 22 (Reuters): Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russia’s richest man and key shareholder in oil major Yukos, was brought to a Moscow court today to learn whether he was to remain in jail pending his trial on fraud and tax fraud charges.

It was the first time Khodorkovsky had been seen outside his prison cell since his arrest on October 25 at gunpoint aboard an aircraft.

Wearing jeans, a sweatshirt and closely cropped hair, Khodorkovsky smiled and nodded at reporters as he was led into court in handcuffs. He was escorted by about 10 policemen, some with submachine guns.

One of Khodorkovsky’s lawyers, Karina Moskalenko, said the judge had rejected a defence request for an open hearing to rule on a prosecution proposal that the oil magnate remain in detention for a further three months. Khodorkovsky’s pre-trial detention is due to expire on December 30.

His lawyers had objected to a proposal to shift the hearing to his cell in Matrosskaya Tishina prison, saying such a trial would be closed to observers and the press.

Another defence lawyer, Vasily Aleksanyan, had said soon after the hearing opened that the court was using the security of participants as a pretext for keeping the trial closed. The defence was considering whether to refuse to take part.

“This is an unprecedented farce inasmuch as no one’s security is threatened,” he said. “This is unacceptable from any logical standpoint.”

The last hearing to seek Khodorkovsky’s release on bail in November was mainly a closed sitting, though reporters briefly saw Khodorkovsky appear on a video link.

Yukos shares were half-a-per cent higher at $10.85 in dollar-denominated trade at 1248 GMT, but on the rouble-based MICEX bourse they had slipped to stand down a third of a per cent at 318.50 roubles.

The legal case against Khodorkovsky has shaken confidence among investors in Russia. Many observers see the legal assault on Yukos as inspired by Kremlin hardliners, anxious to rein in the tycoon’s political ambitions. They expect no decision to release Khodorkovsky on bail until at least the March 14 presidential election.

President Vladimir Putin has said he plans to run for a second term and is heavily favoured to win the contest. He has pledged that businessmen who broke laws in chaotic sell-offs of state property during the 1990s must face the consequences.