Miriam Elder has published a colorfully detailed article which shows what it is like inside the second trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky on GlobalPost:

The courtroom is wood panelled, and behind the judge’s table a large Russian flag is pinned to the wall so it looks forever fluttering, giving the scene the atmosphere of a high school play. There is no jury.

The prosecution began presenting witnesses in September, following nearly half a year of daily hearings during which the charges were read out. They have so far called several dozen witnesses in a list said to number 250. Few in Russia believe the proceedings to be meaningful, and the defense team has called the charges politically motivated. President Dmitry Medvedev has vowed to build an independent court system, but there is no evidence of that happening so far. (…)