A court on Wednesday reduced the sentence of Platon Lebedev, jailed business partner of Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, by three years and four months, making him eligible for release in March next year, his lawyers said.
Lebedev had been serving a 13-year sentence from his two trials in 2005 and 2010, for fraud and tax evasion. Both trials were widely criticized abroad.
A state prosecutor has called for Lebedev’s sentence to be cut by one year and nine months, in line with new legislation softening the punishment for economic crimes.
Lebedev’s legal team had been pushing for his immediate release. They “have not decided yet whether they will appeal today’s ruling,” according to a statement on the khodorkovsky.ru website.
Despite general excitement in the independent media over the ruling, veteran Russian human rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva condemned the decision, saying Lebedev’s imprisonment was “illegal” in the first place.
“This is not leniency, this is not justice, this is judicial arbitrariness where a verdict is made not by a judge but by some official in the Kremlin or regional administration,” she told RIA Novosti.
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.
Khodorkovsky’s lawyer, Yury Shmidt, said it was yet unclear whether the jailed former tycoon will also appeal for his sentence to be reduced.
“Tonight I’ll get a message from a local lawyer who will inform Mikhail Borisovich [Khodorkovsky] about the Velsk court ruling. Then we will decide on what we should do,” he said.
Shmidt also said that Khodorkovsky and his defense team have already discussed the issue and decided to wait until the Velsk court pronounces its ruling on Lebedev’s case.
On Tuesday, a Yukos top manager was released on parole after eight years in prison.