Russia's Presidential Council on human rights dismissed media rumors on Monday that it would ask the Russian leadership to pardon jailed former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev were sentenced to another six years in jail on new years eve after being found guilty of stealing millions of tons of oil from their now defunct company Yukos. The two men had already spent seven years behind bars for tax evasion in what is widely considered to be a politically-motivated case.
"This issue [pardoning] is not on the agenda," human rights council head Mikhail Fedotov said. "We do not plan to address to the president [on this issue.]"
Under Russian law, Khodorkovsky can only be pardoned if asks for presidential amnesty, which he can only do if he admits he is guilty.
On February 1, President Dmitry Medvedev suggested that the council conduct a legal evaluation of the Khodorkovsky case, which has been severely criticized in the West. Fedotov said the evaluation may involve foreign experts.
MOSCOW, February 7 (RIA Novosti)
