ARKHANGELSK, January 24 (RIA Novosti) – An associate of former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky left a northern Russian jail on Friday following a court’s decision to reduce his sentence to time served, the local penitentiary authority said.
“Platon Lebedev left the penal colony in the Arkhangelsk Region around 10 p.m. Moscow time [18:00 GMT],” a spokesman said.
His lawyer Vladimir Krasnov said Lebedev is now heading to Moscow by car, together with his daughter and son.
Platon 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.
Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday reduced his jail sentence to time served.
Updates with a statement from Lebedev’s lawyer
