Washington hails Khodorkovsky case probe

The United States welcomed on Monday the move by Russian authorities to probe the legality of the verdicts handed down to 32 prisoners, including former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev. “We\'ve seen these press reports that President Medvedev is looking at potential changes in status or clemency for some political prisoners in Russia,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said. “Obviously, we would await any final decisions there, but I think you know our views with regard to the Khodorkovsky case - any positive improvement in his situation would be most welcome,” she said. President Dmitry Medvedev’s move, announced just a day after his mentor and ally Prime Minister Vladimir Putin secured his third presidential term with a landslide 63 percent win, suggests the ruling elite wants to defuse public anger in Russia and is ready to offer concessions to the opposition, analysts say. Russian lawmakers insist that the probe is not a concession and the announcement was postponed until after the election to avoid accusations of election propaganda Medvedev’s press-secretary Natalia Timakova said on Monday that the president signed the order on March 3. Two opposition figures, journalist Olga Romanova and State Duma member Gennady Gudkov, submitted a list of 39 convicts they describe as “political prisoners” to the presidential administration a month ago. Among the names on Romanova’s list are Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, who were jailed on fraud charges, Other Russia activist Taisiya Osipova, who was convicted on drugs charges, and Interior Ministry officer Sergei Arakcheyev, sentenced for killing three civilians during the military conflict in Chechnya in 2003.