Khodorkovsky defense to file repeat complaint

The defense counsel for former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partners Platon Lebedev will lodge a new complaint against their verdict, lawyer Vadim Klyuvgant said on Tuesday. "The Moscow City Court returned our complaint citing grounds that bear no relation to reality and are unlawful," he said. Two complaints will now be lodged with the Moscow City Court oversight board - one for Khodorkovsky and one for Lebedev, he added. The first complaint was rejected due to "procedural violations," specifically that Khodorkovsky and Lebedev's defense lawyers were not legally empowered to represent their interests in court. Khodorkovsky, convicted of embezzlement and tax fraud, was sentenced to an additional six years on top of his initial eight-year sentence by a Moscow court in December 2010, later reduced by one year. He is now due for release in 2016. Khodorkovsky and Lebedev lodged a parole request on May 27, but a Moscow court returned it because the relevant documents had not been filed correctly.