PARIS, November 13 (RIA Novosti) - The hearing on the case of former Russian oil giant Yukos that demands $98 billion from Russia in the European Court of Human Rights has been postponed until January 14, the court said Friday.
Yukos turned to the Strasbourg court in 2004 with a complaint against Russian tax authorities' actions that it deemed as an illegal seizure of property.
"The hearing in the case of OAO Neftyanaya Kompaniya Yukos vs. Russia (no. 14902/04) initially scheduled for 19 November 2009 has been postponed to allow the recently appointed ad hoc Judge in this case (Andrei Bushev) more time to familiarize himself with the file," the court said on its website.
Yukos formally ceased to exist in November 2007, after its assets had been sold off through a series of liquidation auctions to meet vast creditor claims. State oil company Rosneft bought up the lion's share of the production assets, becoming one of Russia's largest oil producers.
Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky was sentenced to eight years in prison for fraud and tax evasion. He has consistently denied all charges against him, saying he was punished for supporting the tiny pro-Western political opposition, and that the liquidation of Yukos was engineered by corrupt government officials aiming to seize lucrative oil assets.
Yukos says the Russian authorities violated several articles of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, including the right to a fair trial, protection of property and freedom from discrimination.
