On August 25, a Moscow court upheld a suit filed by the Federal Penitentiary Service in December against a REN-TV anchorwoman and two lawyers acting for Mikhail Khodorkovsky over a report about an alleged hunger strike staged by Khodorkovsky that was broadcast a year previously.

"Our appeal has been transferred to a superior court," said lawyer Yevgeny Baru. "The decision of the ... court makes no sense either legally or logically."

Baru also said the court had not based its decision on the suit filed by the penal authorities.

Commenting on the court decision Thursday, Shmidt concurred with his colleague Baru. "It is not a ruling but a ridiculous story to tell," he said, adding that the penal authorities' suit should have never been accepted.

"Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were not only held in Matrosskaya Tishina, but also in other detention centers," a representative for Shmidt said. "If we follow this logic, other detention centers could also be involved in the case as third parties."

(RIA Novosti)