Kremlin orders review of Khodorkovsky case

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday ordered prosecutors to conduct a review of the legality of the conviction of jailed anti-Kremlin tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Kremlin said. Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika must by April 1 conduct a "review of the legality and basis of the convictions of Russian citizens" including Khodorkovsky and co-accused Platon Lebedev, the Kremlin said in a statement. The order, which was published the day after presidential elections won by Medvedev's mentor Vladimir Putin, applies to the convictions of 32 Russian citizens but by far the most prominent are Khodorkovsky and Lebedev. The Kremlin gave no further details but said that the review had been ordered by Medvedev following a meeting with the leaders of unregistered and largely oppositional political parties on February 20. Khodorkovsky, the former head of the Yukos oil giant and once Russia's richest man, is set to stay in jail until 2016 after being convicted in two fraud trials. His supporters say the convictions were ordered by the authorities after he dared oppose Putin but the authorities have always insisted the tycoon is guilty of serious financial crimes. Lebedev is his former business partner. The conviction review appears to apply only to his second conviction of embezzlement and financial crimes that was handed down in December 2010 and if lifted could potentially allow Khodorkovsky to be released. Khodorkovsky is currently serving out his term at a penal colony in the northern region of Karelia.