Mikhail Khodorkovsky, former chief executive of Russia's oil giant Yukos, will go on trial on June 16 along with another key shareholder of the embattled company.  

After more than two hours of hearings held behind closed doors Tuesday, the Meshchansky district court in Moscow agreed to combine Khodorkovsky's case with that of Platon Lebedev who has been detained since last summer, Interfax News Agency quoted defense lawyer Genrikh Padva as saying.

The ruling marked a victory for the defendants' lawyers who have been trying to get the two cases tried together.

The two defendants face similar fraud and tax evasion charges and merging their cases will reduce the burden on their lawyers.

The combined case will be tried by a board of three judges with Justice Irina Kolesnikova presiding, Padva said.

Khodorkovsky, Russia's richest man who has amassed a fortune calculated by Forbes magazine at US$15.2 billion, has been detained since last October on seven charges. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Critics see the judicial probe into Yukos and the arrest of Khodorkovsky, reportedly a supporter of political opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin, as a Kremlin-backed effort to stifle the oil magnate's financial and political clout.

Putin has repeatedly denied any political influence in the case, saying the prosecution is part of the country's anti-corruption campaign.

(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2004)