The Chita Regional Court approved an application by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Public Prosecutor's Office to extend to 2 August the period for which Platon Lebedev, former head of MFO MENATEP, may be held in the pre-trial detention centre.

Interfax-Sibir Agency’s correspondent reports the court’s ruling that the application was legal and founded in law.

The Public Prosecutor's Office had earlier stated that extending the period of detention was essential to allow for familiarisation with the materials of the criminal case. The prosecution is also persuaded that any alleviation of Lebedev’s sentence could negatively affect the course of the investigation.

Against this, Lebedev’s defence team continues to believe that conducting the investigation in Chita is unlawful.

In the course of the two-day hearing, the attorneys twice called for the withdrawal of the prosecutor, and on one occasion for withdrawal of the judge, but the latter rejected all their demands.

(Interfax, 25 April 2008)