Lebedev Released From Prison in Arkhangelsk

By RIA Novosti

Jan. 25, 2014

ARKHANGELSK — Platon Lebedev, an associate of former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has left a northern Russian jail following a court's decision to reduce his sentence to time served, the local prison service said.

"Platon Lebedev left the penal colony in the Arkhangelsk region around 10 p.m. Moscow time," a spokesman said.

Lebedev's lawyer, Vladimir Krasnov, said his client is now heading to Moscow by car, together with his daughter and son.

Lebedev was jailed in 2003 and then convicted of tax evasion in 2005 and embezzlement and money laundering in 2010, charges that his supporters have maintained were Kremlin retribution for Khodorkovsky's political ambitions.

The Supreme Court on Thursday reduced his jail sentence to time served.

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