MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti) - The detention cell where former Yukos chief excutive Mikhail Khodorkovsky is being held pending trial has been placed under quarantine, one of his defense lawyers said Friday.
Attorney Yelena Levina told reporters the prison administration had refused to let her visit Khodorkovsky earlier in the day, citing quarantine restrictions. But they would not explain why the quarantine had been declared, how long it would last, or whether it would prevent Khodorkovsky from attending hearings on his appeal against the nine-year prison sentence handed down by the Moscow City Court on September 19.
Another member of Khodorkosvky's defense team, Anton Drel, said the prison administration had assured him that his client's request to register as a candidate in parliamentary by-elections had been delivered to the Central Electoral Commission Wednesday.
