ST. PETERSBURG, August 8 - RAPSI. The criminal case of former State Duma deputy Mikhail Glushchenko will be reconsidered under a decision by the St. Petersburg City Court, RIA Novosti reports.

"The sentence has been dismissed as unjust, the case has been submitted for reconsideration," Alexander Afanasyev, Glushchenko's attorney said.

Afanasyev earlier pointed out numerous procedural violations committed during the judicial examination. In particular, he alleged that the case materials had many records in foreign languages. Moreover, the court refused to accept several witnesses for the defense.

Investigators maintain that Glushchenko extorted money and property worth $10 million from two Russian businessmen between December 2003 and February 2004.

In addition, he is also suspected of arranging the murder of three Russian citizens, whose bodies were found in the vicinity of Pathos, Cyprus in March 2004. Glushchenko was arrested in St. Petersburg in June 2009.

In 2004, a witness in the high-profile murder of MP Galina Starovoitova also named Glushchenko as one of the individuals who ordered her assassination.

Glushchenko was sentenced to eight years in prison for extortion in March.