NOVOSIBIRSK, June 27 (RIA Novosti) - Prosecutors said Tuesday they had rejected jailed Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky's appeal against a Siberian prison's decision to place him in solitary confinement for a second time, saying his lawyers' arguments were unsubstantiated.
Khodorkovsky, who is serving his eight-year term on fraud and tax evasion charges in an East Siberian prison, was put in a solitary cell for the second time March 17 for drinking tea in "an unauthorized place."
"The Prosecutor's Office does not see any grounds for taking measures," said Konstantin Anufriyev, who oversees the observance of law in penitentiary institutions.
Since the oligarch arrived at the prison in October 2005, he has been put in solitary confinement four times, including on one occasion for his own safety after he had his nose slashed by a fellow inmate.
The first decision to place him in a solitary cell for allegedly possessing inappropriate documents has been dismissed as incorrect by a court of law.
