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Russian court sets Khodorkovsky release hearing

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-04 15:27

MOSCOW  -- A Russian court has set an August 21 early-release appeal hearing date for jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a spokeswoman for the local court in the Siberian city of Chita said on Monday.

A Russian court sentenced in absentia a former partner of Yukos oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, seen here in 2004, to life in prison for ordering four contract killings, drawing condemnation from the defence. [Agencies]

Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, was sentenced in 2005 to eight years in prison for tax evasion and fraud. His trial was viewed by many as a climax of the Kremlin-orchestrated campaign to subdue the politically-ambitious business leaders.

The fate of Khodorkovsky's appeal for release, which follows new charges of embezzlement and money laundering, is broadly seen as a test of new President Dmitry Medvedev's stated commitment to establishing a "rule of law" within Russia.