MOSCOW, June 25 (UPI) -- A Russian businessman says former Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and a business partner should be granted parole on what some say are false claims.
Business tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov, a new leader of the Right Cause party, said Khodorkovsky, and partner Platon Lebedev, shouldn't be in prison and should be granted an immediate parole, RIA Novosti reported Saturday.
The pair have been in prison since 2003, and in December they were convicted on a second set of charges, extending their sentences to 2016. They were convicted on fraud charges.
"I personally believe that there is no reason for Khodorkovsky and Lebedev to stay in prison," Prokhorov said. "They should exercise this right [on parole]."
Both men have professed their innocence, saying they were convicted on trumped-up charges after Khodorkovsky contributed money to opposition parties during the presidency of Vladimir Putin, who is now Russia's prime minister. Moscow has denied that claim.
