Zee Beam News

July 16, 2008 - Kommersant - Ex-chief of former oil giant Yukos, Mikhail Khodorkovsky has petitioned for the grant of parole, Interfax reported with reference to Khodorkovsky’s lawyer Yuri Shmidt. The businessman is serving the eight-year sentence for financial fraud. In May of 2005, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and MFO MENATEP CEO Platon Lebedev were sentenced to nine years of the general-regime colony. The term was shorted to eight years in September. Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were found guilty in the fraud, tax evasion and non-execution of binding sentences. Khodorkovsky, who was detained October 25, 2003, has spent more than 4.5 years under arrest and, therefore, may petition for parole. The tricky point is that the parole is granted provided the convict has repented having committed the crimes and his behavior has been model in time of imprisonment. Khodorkovsky, however, hasn’t admitted guilt and has received a few disciplinary penalties, the better part of which appealed by his lawyers. Meanwhile, a bill was submitted to the State Duma in June of 2008 to amend the Criminal Code in part of equaling a day in detention facilities spent prior to the trial to a day and a half in the general-regime colony. If the amendments are passed, the sentence of Khodorkovsky will end in 2009 under the first case. Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were moved from the colony to Chita detention facilities in December of 2006 to face new charges in February of 2007. Nowadays, they are also accused of the theft of Vostochnaya Neftyanaya Co. stocks and nearly 350 billion tons of oil and of laundering revenues worth more than 850 billion ruble. The figures are absurd, Khodorkovsky, Lebedev and their lawyers insist, but if the convicts are brought in guilty, their sentence may extend by another 22 years.