Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in an interview with the Vedomosti business daily criticized the country's judicial system, in particular harsh punishments for economic crimes.
However, Medvedev refused to comment on the new sentence for ex-oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his former business partner Platon Lebedev whose case Russian opposition activists and Western observers call politically motivated.
"It would be wrong to narrow the situation in the sphere of justice down to the issue of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev alone. We need to look at the practice of using criminal legislation on economic crimes," he said, adding that there are businessmen in Russia who committed minor crimes but were imprisoned for 10-15 years.
Khodorkovsky, 47, and Lebedev, 54, were sentenced in December 2010 to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of stealing oil from their own company and laundering the proceeds.
The two men had been nearing the end of their eight-year sentences for fraud and tax evasion from their 2005 trial and will remain behind bars for another six years. Prosecutors have not ruled out a third set of charges against them.
In his last year's address to parliament, Medvedev called for a wider use of fines as punishment for crimes not related to violence. He also said that judges should not perceive the maximum possible punishment for crimes as the only option.
In April 2010, Medvedev signed into law amendments to legislation on economic crimes intended to increase the use of bail for suspects awaiting trial and halt the abuse of the system, where officials attempt to pressure suspects by keeping them in pretrial detention for extended periods.
As a result, the number of arrests in Russia went down by 20% in the first half of 2010.
In his interview to Vedomosti, the president also called for a balance of interests of both businessmen and investigators.
He also said judges should be treated with respect but not be completely immune from any control of their activity.
MOSCOW, January 26 (RIA Novosti)
