Court Extends Pre-Trial Custody for Yukos Shareholder Lebedev

On Friday the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow extended the term of pre-trial custody for Platon Lebedev, former chief of the Menatep holding group and a key shareholder of the Yukos Oil Company, the Interfax news agency reports. The ruling fulfilled a request of the state prosecutor who had asked that the term of Lebedev’s detention be prolonged for three more months.

Lebedev’s lawyers have repeatedly complained about the poor state of their client’s health and said that he should be released, but prison officials have so far turned down all these requests.

Platon Lebedev, the former head of the Menatep holding and a key shareholder of the oil giant Yukos, together with his business partner Mikhail Khodorkovsky stand accused on seven counts, including large-scale fraud and tax evasion. Many analysts see Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s political ambitions as the real reason behind the so called Yukos affair.

HERE