MOSCOW - A Moscow local court has scheduled a preliminary hearing of the criminal case against former YUKOS CEO, Mikhail Khodorkovsky for May 28, 2004, Khodorkovsky's lawyer Anton Drel reported. Answering the question whether the defense is planning to petition for uniting Khodorkovsky's criminal case with the case of former Menatep head Platon Lebedev, the lawyer mentioned that this question would be answered on May 28. According to law, the hearing will be held behind closed doors.

It became known yesterday that judge Irina Kolesnikova, who had already considered the case of Vasily Shakhnovsky, the former head of the YUKOS Moscow division, and was currently considering Lebedev's case, would preside over Khodorkovsky's case.