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Court to consider ex-Menatep director's compensation demand

On Wednesday Moscow's Tverskoi court will begin reviewing former Menatep director Platon Lebedev's damages suit, in connection with his illegal custody from August 17 through to...

MOSCOW, February 29 (Itar-Tass) — On Wednesday Moscow's Tverskoi court will begin reviewing former Menatep director Platon Lebedev's damages suit, in connection with his illegal custody from August 17 through to November 17, 2010, the court's press service told Itar-Tass.

The defendant is the Finance Ministry.

In April 2011, the Russian Supreme Court acknowledged that Lebedev was kept in custody illegally in the designated period, when a second criminal case against him was investigated.

The Supreme Court's ruling has no legal consequences for Lebedev, except for the opportunity to demand compensation for moral damage, because at that time, he was also in custody as a person convicted within the first Yukos case.

In February, Lebedev's lawyers lodged another similar complaint, demanding compensation for the arrest in the period from May 17 through to August 17, 2010. The Supreme Court acknowledged that custody during that period was illegal as well. The date for reviewing the second suit has not been set yet.

On December 30, 2010, Moscow's Khamovniki court sentenced former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business associate, former MENTEP director Platon Lebedev to 14 years in prison for theft of oil and money laundering. Lebedev, and Khodorkovsky and their lawyers appealed the ruling.

On May 24, 2011, the Moscow City Court reduced their sentence by one year. The verdict became effective.

The Moscow City Court later turned down their supervisory appeals.

In Moscow, the convicted persons petitioned for parole, as they had already served more than half of their terms. The parole petitions later were turned down.

Khodorkovsky and Lebedev's jail terms expire in 2016.

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FACTBOX: Collective Security Treaty Organization

The Collective Security Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 to herald the emergence what would eventually become the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The six member-countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

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