Velsk court considers Lebedev's lawyers' request for softer punishment for Lebedev
ARKHANGELSK. Aug 7 (Interfax) - The Velsk District Court on Tuesday began considering the requests made by the lawyers for former Menatep CEO Platon Lebedev to soften their client's punishment.
The court hearing is held in the same courtroom where the Velsk court denied Lebedev parole a year ago. Lebedev has refused to be present at the trial.
Alexei Miroshnichenko, a lawyer for Lebedev, said the request was made on Lebedev's lawyers' initiative and their client does not object to it "primarily due to common sense."
The case is being tried by Velsk District Court Chairman Viktor Ivanov. The lawyers for Lebedev are Vladimir Krasnov and Alexei Miroshnichenko and the state prosecutor is Velsk district prosecutor Yevgeny Yashenko.
About a dozen journalists are present in the courtroom.
Lebedev's defense lawyers have pointed out to the court the changes made to the Russian Criminal Code and asked for their client's punishment to the sentence he has already served.
Lebedev was sentenced to 13 years in prison. He is serving his sentence in a penal colony in Velsk, Arkhangelsk region. The local court and the court of cassation have denied Lebedev parole.
Information on the second criminal case against Mikhail Khodorkovsky was Platon Lebedev appeared after the first trial. In December 2010, the former Yukos managers were sentenced to 14 years in prison for stealing oil and legalizing the proceedings from oil sales in the "second case." Half a year later, the Moscow City Court reduced their term from 14 to 13 years.
The years are counted from 2003, when Lebedev and Khodorkovsky were arrested in connection with the "first Yukos case." This means Lebedev and Khodorkovsky will walk free in 2016.
