Khodorkovsky may run for parliament

MOSCOW, August 23 (RIA Novosti) - Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, sentenced to nine years in prison for tax evasion and fraud, is contemplating running for parliament, his defense lawyer Yuri Schmidt said Tuesday.

Schmidt said the former Yukos CEO would put forward his candidacy if "supported by people whose opinion really matters to him."

Khodorkovsky will have an opportunity to run in a southwestern Moscow constituency whose representative in the federal legislature has resigned to concentrate on his new job as the chief executive of a subsidiary of Vneshtorgbank, a state-owned bank servicing retail and corporate clients.

The embattled oligarch's campaign team will be led by Ivan Starikov, a board member of the Russian liberal party The Union of Right Forces. As soon as the team is formed, Starikov will make a formal offer to Khodorkovsky, held in Moscow's Matrosskaya Tishina detention center since October 2003, through his defense lawyers.

The date for the by-election in Khodorkovsky's prospective constituency has yet to be set. His right to run for parliament was confirmed in mid-August by Central Electoral Commission Vice Chair Oleg Velyashev. He said Khodorkovsky would be able to exercise this right before the sentence imposed on him by the Basmanny district court came into effect and that he may have problems getting registered as a candidate.

Khodorkovsky's case is currently being considered by an appeals court.