MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. The defense attorney of Russia’s former Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukayev, sentenced to eight years in prison and a 130-mln ruble ($2.2 mln) fine for taking a bribe, has filed an appeal against the sentence.

"The court has received an appeal filed by defense attorney Daredzhan Kveidze, representing Alexey Ulyukayev," Spokesman for Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky Court Emilia Khil told TASS.

On December 15, Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky Court sentenced Ulyukayev to eight years in a maximum security correctional facility and a 130-mln ruble ($2.2 mln) fine for taking a bribe. He was also prohibited from taking civil service positions for a period of eight years after serving out the prison term but was not stripped of state awards.

Ulyukayev, who remained under house arrest during the investigation, was taken into custody in the courtroom and is being held in the Matrosskaya Tishina pre-trial detention center.