Russian Ruling Keeps Khodorkovsky in Exile as Lebedev Freed
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Russia’s highest court decided to keep Mikhail Khodorkovsky in legal limbo by upholding the tax claim that prompted the former oil tycoon to choose exile after President Vladimir Putin’s surprise pardon last month.
At the same time, the Supreme Court freed Platon Lebedev, Khodorkovsky’s partner in Yukos Oil Co., four months early by commuting his sentence to time served. The men, arrested in 2003 and later convicted twice of crimes including fraud and tax evasion, had been due to be released later this year.