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Russian Court Orders Release of Khodorkovsky's Jailed Business Partner Lebedev

Russian Court Orders Release of Khodorkovskys Jailed Business Partner Lebedev
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Πεμ, 23 Ιανουαρίου 2014 - 18:51
Russia's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that former Yukos oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky's jailed business partner, Platon Lebedev, be freed, bringing an end to the country's highest profile criminal case that critics had viewed as politically motivated.
Russia's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that former Yukos oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky's jailed business partner, Platon Lebedev, be freed, bringing an end to the country's highest profile criminal case that critics had viewed as politically motivated.

But the country's highest court declined to lift a 17.5 billion ruble ($513 million) tax penalty against Mr. Khodorkovsky, who was pardoned by President Vladimir Putin in December and immediately left Russia for Germany . He had said the heavy tax claim was a key reason why he didn't intend to return to Russia any time soon.

"I am not welcome in Russia ," Mr. Khodorkovsky told Russia 's New Times magazine after Thursday's ruling. "I got the message."

The court's decision allows Mr. Lebedev, the former chief executive of Mr. Khodorkovsky's Bank Menatep holding company, to walk free four months ahead of his scheduled release date in May. The ruling came as part of a review of the case that was triggered by a European Court of Human Rights ruling from last summer that had cited problems in the proceedings against the two men.

A spokesperson for the Federal Penal Service said that Mr. Lebedev would be released as soon as the original court order is received by officials at the prison colony where he is being held in Northwestern Russia .

In a statement, Mr. Khodorkovsky's legal team said they welcomed Mr. Lebedev's release, but expressed dismay that the tax claim--which they called "absurd"--had not been revoked, and that they would "use every legal mechanism to see the unlawful claims dropped."

"The claim deprives [Khodorkovsky] of an opportunity to come back to Russia, because as long as the claim stands, the "iron curtain" can drop in front of him any time. And he cannot afford the luxury of losing his freedom of movement because of his health, family situation and strategic life plans," the statement said.

Mr. Khodorkovsky is currently residing in Switzerland and says he intends to engage in pro-democracy projects in Russia , but not directly in business or politics there.

The Supreme Court had announced on Dec. 25--just days after Mr. Khodorkovsky's release--that it would review the cases against the two men to address the flaws the European court had cited.

The move comes as global attention has increasingly focused on Russia ahead of its hosting the Winter Olympic Games in February. Around the time of Mr. Khodorkovsky's release, Russia freed several others who had been jailed or faced trial in high profile political cases, including members of the punk group Pussy Riot and the crew of a Greenpeace ship that had been arrested during a protest against Arctic offshore drilling.

Russian human rights activists and opposition political figure Lev Ponomaryov said freeing Mr. Lebedev but continuing to demand the damages payment was an effort to make Russia look benevolent without raising the possibility of future political difficulties if Mr. Khodorkovsky were to come back to Russia and galvanize forces opposed to Mr. Putin.

"It is, in effect, a ban on Khodorkovsky's return to Russia ," he said. "Khodorkovsky earned the right to moral authority while he was imprisoned. It seems there are fears he may consolidate civil society and the opposition."

But Russia 's human rights ombudsman, Vladimir Lukin, disagreed and said the matter of damages could be resolved.

"I think that the issue is not closed and that there are various means for further appeal," he told the Interfax news agency following a meeting with Mr. Putin and human rights figures. "We have supported the appeal."

Mr. Khodorkovsky had walked out of prison just eight months before he was scheduled to be released. He and Mr. Lebedev were jailed in 2003 on charges of fraud and tax evasion and convicted in 2005. As their original sentences wound down, a second trial for embezzlement and money laundering was held in 2010 that initially resulted in their prison terms being extended until late 2016, with the terms being reduced on appeal.

In July, the European court ruled that while Russia had sound reasons to pursue tax-evasion charges against two heads of the now-defunct company in 2005, some of the procedures in the trial were unfair and defense lawyers had been harassed by authorities. Among the issues the court raised was the legality of the ruling that Mr. Khodorkovsky owed 17.5 billion rubles in damages to compensate for unpaid taxes.

The two men's trial was a watershed event in Mr. Putin's rule, seen by critics as the beginning of Kremlin efforts to stifle dissent and impose stronger control over parliament, where Mr. Khodorkovsky had used his fortune to fund political parties that challenged the Kremlin's ability to push through legislation.

The two men have long proclaimed their innocence, insisting the cases against them amounted to political retribution.

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