MOSCOW, March 7 (Itar-Tass) —— Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the verdict to former YUKOS CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner, former MENATEP CEO Platon Lebedev is founded in law.

“There are court rulings and they have become effective,” Putin told the press on Wednesday, March 7.

“And there are statutory procedures concerning a possible release. If someone wants to use these possibilities, go ahead,” he said.