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Court commutes sentence to Lebedev by 3 years & 4 months

The appeal of Lebedev’s lawyers was satisfied partially, as the latter asked not only to commute his sentence, but also release him

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

ARKHANGELSK, August 8 (Itar-Tass) — The lawyers of the former MENATEP CEO Platon Lebedev, who was convicted for oil misappropriation and money laundering, did not decide yet whether they will appeal the Wednesday court verdict, which commuted the term in prison for Lebedev by three years and four months. “At first the written text of the court verdict should be studied,” the press centre of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev told Itar-Tass.

The term in prison for Lebedev was commuted to nine years and eight months. He “is to be released on March 2, 2013,” the press centre reported.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor, which insisted on a lower commuted term in prison to 11 years and three months, can appeal the verdict passed by Judge Viktor Ivanov within ten days.

A more lenient sentence is linked with a new version of Article 174.1 Part 3 of the Russian Criminal Code for the laundering of money and other property acquired in the crime. In this respect, the lawyers asked the court to commute the term in prison for Lebedev to the term, which he had actually served in prison and relieve him from further sentence.

On Tuesday, August 7, the prosecutor supported partially the demands of the lawyers. In his view, the actions of the convict should be actually re-qualified over a new version of the criminal articles for a more lenient sentence. However, “over the nature and the degree of public danger, there are no grounds to reduce the term in prison to the term, which had already been served.”

On December 30, 2010, the Khamovniki District Court of Moscow sentenced the former YUKOS CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the former MENATEP CEO Platon Lebedev to 14 years in prison for oil misappropriation and money laundering. The convicts and their lawyers appealed the court verdict. As a result on May 24, 2011, the Moscow City Court commuted the sentence to them by one year. So, with due account of the term in prison for Khodorkovsky and Lebedev will expire in 2016. Lebedev and Khodorkovsky were convoyed to the Arkhangelsk Region and Karelia respectively.

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