State prosecutors in northern Russia filed an appeal on Friday against a court ruling to cut the sentence of Platon Lebedev, jailed business partner of Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
On Wednesday, a court in the Akhangenlsk region reduced Lebedev’s sentence by three years and four months.
Lebedev has been in jail since 2003, having been convicted of fraud and tax evasion at two trials in 2005 and 2010. Both trials have been widely criticized abroad.
The prosecutor called for a much lesser reduction, in line with new legislation softening the punishment for economic crimes.
The former boss of oil giant Yukos, Khodorkovsky, and Lebedev maintain that the prosecution against them has been politically motivated, a claim denied by Russian authorities.
Both men have been previously denied parole.
On Tuesday, a Yukos top manager was released on parole after eight years in prison.