Editing Platon Lebedev (section)

==Conviction and imprisonment==
On 2 July 2003, Lebedev, then chairman of the board of Menatep, was summoned as a witness to the Prosecutor General's Office in an investigation into embezzlement of state funds. Shortly before the scheduled visit, Lebedev however felt ill at about 5 a.m. and was taken to a hospital. Lebedev then subsequently was arrested in the hospital on suspicion of stealing a 20% stake in JSC [[Apatit]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gasandoil.com/news/russia/4e7da30e813b56d47b6fe5de9464a821|title=Yukos arrests are part of new campaign on big business|publisher=Gas and Oil|date=9 July 2003|access-date=24 September 2019}}</ref>

On 31 May 2005, Lebedev was convicted of [[tax evasion]] in 2005, and sentenced to nine years in prison.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4482203.stm|title=Khodorkovsky: an oligarch undone|work=BBC News|access-date=24 September 2019|date=31 May 2005|author=Scott-Joynt, Jeremy}}</ref> He was subsequently charged with [[embezzlement]] and [[money laundering]] in 2009, and pleaded not guilty to the charges.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8009817.stm|title=Ex-Yukos chief pleads not guilty|work=BBC News|access-date=24 September 2019|date=21 April 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/21/khodorkovsky-pleads-not-guilty-to-embezzlement/|title=Khodorkovsky pleads not guilty to embezzlement|work=The Washington Times|access-date=24 September 2019|date=21 April 2009}}</ref> There has been speculation that these charges were politically motivated.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/03/international/europe/03CND-RUSS.html|title=Oil Executive Is Arrested, and Russians Look for Putin's Role|work=The New York Times|access-date=24 September 2019|author=Tavernise, Sabrina|date=3 July 2003}}</ref>

On 27 December 2010, Lebedev and [[Mikhail Khodorkovsky]] were each sentenced to 13 years in prison for money laundering and embezzlement. In the second case against them, they were found guilty of organizing a criminal group in the oil business, embezzling 218 million tonnes of oil from Yukos' oil extraction subsidiary companies, Uganskneftegaz, [[Tomskneft]] and Samaraneftegaz.{{cn|date=December 2020}}

In December 2013 Khodorkovsky was released while Lebedev was released on 24 January 2014. "A short prison sentence might be considered a victory for Mr. Putin's protégé, President Dmitry A. Medvedev, a former law professor who is thought of as less of a hard-liner. Mr. Medvedev has been promoting policies to modernize Russia, and analysts say the Khodorkovsky case is an obstacle toward convincing foreign investors that the country's legal system is fair."<ref>{{cite news|author=Levy, Clifford J.|author2=Kramer, Andrew E.|title='Imprisoned Russian Oil Tycoon Is Convicted Again'|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=27 December 2010|page=A4}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/27/wikileaks-russia-mikhail-khodorkovsky-trial|author=Parfitt, Tom|title=WikiLeaks: rule of law in Mikhail Khodorkovsky trial merely gloss|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=26 December 2010|access-date=24 September 2019}}</ref>

On 24 May 2011, Lebedev and Khodorkovsky were named [[prisoners of conscience]] by [[Amnesty International]], which criticized the men's second trial and called for their release on the expiry of their initial sentences.<ref name="AI">{{cite news|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2011/05/russian-businessmen-declared-prisoners-conscience-after-convictions-are-upheld/|title=Russian businessmen declared prisoners of conscience after convictions are upheld|date=24 May 2011|publisher=Amnesty International|access-date=24 September 2019}}</ref>

On 7 August 2012, Lebedev's 13-year sentence was reduced by 3 years and 4 months by a district court judge in the [[Arkhangelsk]] region city of [[Velsk]], where Lebedev had been imprisoned.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-08-08/russia-reduces-prison-term-for-lebedev-interfax-says-correct-|publisher=Bloomberg|access-date=24 September 2019|title=Russian Court Orders Release of Khodorkovsky Partner in 2013|author=Meyer, Henry|date=8 August 2012}}</ref> This action came as a result of the prosecutor's office requesting a re-qualification of Lebedev's offenses due to the passage of a new legal statute in the Russian Criminal Code which reduced the punishment for offenses of which he had been convicted.

On 25 October 2013, the [[Berlin International Literature Festival]] held a worldwide reading in solidarity with Platon Lebedev and all criminals who allege they are political prisoners in Russia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwide-reading.com/archiv-en/25-10-2013-worldwide-reading-in-solidarity-with-mikhail-khodorkovsky-platon-lebedev-and-all-political-prisoners-in-russia|title=Worldwide Reading in Solidarity with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Platon Lebedev and all Political Prisoners in Russia|work=Worldwide Reading|date=25 October 2013|access-date=24 September 2019}}</ref>