A Russian court suspended the trial of an ailing former executive of the dismantled oil giant Yukos on Wednesday, but refused to release him from jail to be treated for AIDS-related cancer and tuberculosis.

Lawyers for Vasily Aleksanian, a former attorney for jailed oil tycoon Mikhail and a one-time vice president of Yukos, had asked the court to allow him to be treated in a hospital. The Simonovsky District Court ruled that Aleksanian should be treated in a Moscow jail because he could flee or pressure witnesses if released.

Authorities' refusal to allow hospital treatment for Aleksanian has sparked protests and renewed criticism that the now-dismantled oil giant is the victim of a Kremlin revenge campaign.

Khodorkovsky, now in prison himself, began a hunger strike a week ago, saying his protest would continue until Aleksanian was freed.

He is serving up to eight years in prison following his conviction on fraud and tax evasion charges, allegations widely regarded as the Kremlin's revenge for his political ambitions and his funding of opposition parties.

A Moscow-based rights group, For Human Rights, called the ruling a "demonstration of the government's inexorable cruelty."

Yukos, once Russia's largest oil producer, was broken up and sold off in auctions ordered by the state to pay off billions of dollars in back tax claims.

Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, has accused officials of trying to pressure Aleksanian into confessing and making false accusations against his former Yukos colleagues by denying him treatment.

The prosecution raised no objections to suspending Aleksanian's trial because of his illness, but insisted Aleksanian must remain in custody.

The ruling defies a series of orders by the European Court of Human Rights, which has called on Russian prison authorities to transfer Aleksanian to a hospital specialized in the treatment of AIDS.

"Today's judgment is outrageous and incomprehensible. The European Court's decision is binding on Russia as a matter of both international law and Russian domestic law," said Drew Holiner, Aleksanian's representative at the European Court of Human Rights, in a statement.

"Vasily has not been given the treatment he needs and doctors have recommended for over 14 months in prison," he said.

A group of European Parliament deputies addressed a letter to President Vladimir Putin urging him to show clemency toward Aleksanian and other jailed Yukos executives.

"The government's behavior in denying Aleksanian required treatment is in serious breach of fundamental human rights," the deputies said.

Aleksanian is charged with embezzling funds and shares in Yukos subsidiary Tomskneft worth $490 million, charges he denies.

On Tuesday, Aleksanian again accused prosecutors of seeking to force him to testify against other former Yukos executives.

"I had the courage not to make those statements that they tried to force me to make," he told reporters from the courtroom cage where defendants in Russian criminal trials typically are kept.

Aleksanian, who looked tired and haggard, was visibly angry when he heard the court's verdict.

Aleksanian was prevented from speaking directly to reporters, who were bundled out of the courtroom after the brief public hearing. In previous hearings, he had been permitted to give brief interviews.

His lawyer, Yelena Lvova, said he could not get proper treatment in custody. "There are contradictions in the decision: they decided he needs treatment in a special cancer clinic, but it's clear that the prison hospital doesn't have such facilities," she said after the verdict.

She said the defense team would appeal the ruling.

Prosecutor Nikolai Vlasov insisted that there were no medical grounds for granting Aleksanian bail, but said he was not qualified to decide whether he should transferred out of the prison.

"The head doctor at the detention facility will make this decision," he said. "He can be placed under guard in any medical facility."

A group of protesters chanted for Aleksanian's release as he was escorted out of the courtroom.

Yelena Sannikova, a rights campaigner behind a hunger strike of seven activists in Moscow, said she was stunned by the court's decision and that the activists would continue their protest.