MOSCOW, August 26 (RIA Novosti) - A Moscow court is expected to consider an appeal against the convictions of ex-Yukos chief executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, head of the Menatep financial group, Yury Shmidt, Khodorkovsky's lawyer, said Friday.
"I did not expect it to happen so soon," Shmidt said.
He said such a decision had been made in view of the upcoming State Duma (Russia's lower chamber of parliament) elections, Khodorkovsky being a possible candidate from one of Moscow's constituencies.
Even if the case is submitted to Moscow's city court next week, he continued, it will be impossible to look through the more than 450 volumes of the case and 15 volumes of minutes of the judgment and lawyers' complaints.
Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were found guilty of fraud and tax evasion and sentenced to nine years in jail in May.
According to his lawyers, Khodorkovsky is considering running in the State Duma elections, and an initiative group to promote his candidacy is being formed.
Russian law allows Khodorkovsky to run for parliament before the court's decision takes effect.
Alexander Veshnyakov, the chairman of the Russian Central Election Commission, said the candidate's nomination would be considered void and powers terminated when a judgment is enforced.
