Several news outlets are reporting that a Russian court today has granted parole to the former Yukos lawyer, political prisoner, and mother of three
Svetlana Bakhmina. Here is an excerpt from
the Moscow Times:
The Preobrazhensky District Court granted parole to Bakhmina, who was
serving a 6 1/2-year term being convicted in April 2006 on charges of
embezzlement and tax evasion.
She is one of several senior Yukos officials to be jailed since
the company came under fire in 2003. Her bid to be released has become
a cause celebre among prominent liberals and has even been backed by
Kremlin supporters.
Several members of the Public Chamber have called for her release, as has former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
