Russian oil tycoon seeks parole

MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- Jailed former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky filed a request for parole Wednesday and his lawyer challenged Russia's new president to follow through on promises to uphold the rule of law.

Khodorkovsky, called a political prisoner by Kremlin critics, was convicted of tax evasion and fraud in May 2005 after a politically tinged trial. He is serving an eight-year sentence and has been in custody for nearly five years.

The legal onslaught against Khodorkovsky and his Yukos oil company was widely viewed as Kremlin punishment for his independence and political ambitions. Yukos has since been taken over by state oil company Rosneft.

Khodorkovsky's request for parole is considered the first serious test of President Dmitry Medvedev's commitment to end what Medvedev himself has called Russia's "legal nihilism."

Khodorkovsky's lawyer Yuri Shmidt used the phase repeatedly Wednesday in an attempt to hold the president to his word.

"We wish Dmitry Anatolyevich (Medvedev) success absolutely sincerely," Shmidt said at a news conference. "If he manages to achieve real independence for the courts, it would not be reform. It would be a revolution."

Khodorkovsky, formerly Russia's richest man, has served more than half his prison sentence and is eligible for parole, but he is being held in a pre-trial detention facility in the Far Eastern city of Chita while authorities investigate new charges.

In June, Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev were hit with fresh charges of embezzlement and money laundering.

The Chita court recently ruled he must remain in detention on these charges until at least Nov. 2, on the basis that he could flee if granted early release on the original sentence.

Shmidt said the request for parole was filed Wednesday with the Chita court.

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