Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, serving an eight year jail sentence, received a rare boost Wednesday when the Supreme Court ruled that the 2003 arrest of his business partner was illegal.

The praesidium of the Supreme Court ruled that the order from a Moscow court on 3 July , 2003 to arrest businessman Platon Lebedev should be cancelled, according to the ruling, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.
 

It was the first time in the long-running saga surrounding Khodorkovsy, formerly the country's richest man, that a Russian court found violations in the case.
 

The praesidium, the highest instance of the Supreme Court, had reviewed the arrest decision after the European Court of Human Rights in October 2007 ruled that Lebedev's rights had been violated during his pre-trial detention.
 

According to Khodorkovsky's lawyers, a similar complaint has been placed before the European court on behalf of the ex-boss of the Yukos oil giant himself but it has yet to be examined.
 

"For the first time the Russian courts have taken a decision that is near legal about the imprisonment of the protagonists in the Yukos case," Khodorkovsky's lead lawyer Vadim Klyuvgant told AFP.
 

"Time will tell if this is a turning point in the Yukos case," he added.

New circumstances
Without giving further details, the court ruling also ordered the details of the criminal case against Lebedev to be re-examined " in the light of new circumstances".
 

An official with the Supreme Court, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said: "He [Lebedev] turned to the European Court - we must fulfil its decision."
 

Asked if a similar decision could be taken in relation to Khodorkovsky, the official said: "We cannot speak hypothetically."
 

Khodorkovsky and his business partner Lebedev were jailed for eight years in 2005 on charges of fraud and tax evasion that their supporters argue were trumped up to punish the tycoon for daring to finance opposition parties.
 

Lebedev was director of the Menatep holding company which was the biggest shareholder in Yukos.
 

"Of course this is positive news. The supreme court has finally listened, thanks to the decision of the European court," Lebedev's lawyer Yelena Liptser told AFP.
 

"Violations have been acknowledged that existed in the case right from the start.
 

A spokeswoman at Moscow's Basmanny court that issued the arrest warrant for Lebedev declined to comment.
 

Khodorkovsky and Lebedev are now on trial again on fresh charges of embezzling millions of tons of oil and money laundering that could see them jailed for another two decades.

Charges continued
Russia insists the pair are guilty of massive financial crimes stemming from the controversial privatisation deals of the 1990s and officials have always insisted they must serve their full terms.
 

President Dmitry Medvedev has said Khodorkovsky would have to confess to have a chance of a pardon. Some liberals had hoped his election as president could help the tycoon's cause but until now there has been nothing to suggest this.
 

Coincidentally, the decision was announced on the same day that Thorbjorn Jagland, the secretary general of the pan-European rights body the Council of Europe, was in Moscow to have talks with Medvedev.
 

Political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin praised the court's decision and suggested it could show that there is a split between Putin and Medvedev over the case.
 

"The judges [of the Supreme Court] have taken a decision of civil courage and some people will be infuriated over this," he said.

Source: AFP