MOSCOW, December 5 - RAPSI. The Moscow City Court will hear the supervisory appeals against the sentences of former YUKOS head Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev, who were proscribed to 13 years in prison for oil theft and money laundering, Vadim Klyuvgant, Khodorkovsky's attorney, told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com).

The YUKOS case has been one of the most high profile in Russia over recent years.

In the early 2000s, the authorities accused YUKOS executives Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev of tax evasion. YUKOS, then the country's largest oil company, went bankrupt and its assets were taken over by Rosneft.

Many in the West believe the case was politically driven. Moscow denies these charges.

In 2005, Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were sentenced to eight years in prison for fraud and tax evasion.

In late 2010, a Moscow district court sentenced them to 14 years in prison for oil theft and money laundering. They were expected to be released in 2017, taking into consideration the time they had already served for their previous convictions from their first trial.

However, the Moscow City Court reduced their sentences by one year in May 2011.