MOSCOW, July 24 - RAPSI. The Tverskoy District Court has refused to consider former Menatep head Platon Lebedev's appeal against Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika's inaction, the press center representing Lebedev and former YUKOS head Mikhail Khodorkovsky reported on Tuesday.

The two men were earlier sentenced to 13 years in prison for oil theft and money laundering.

Attorney Vladimir Krasnov has asked the court to interfere with the prosecutor general's inaction regarding the appeal submitted by Lebedev's defense.

Krasnov said he requested that the prosecutor general sort out his appeals against the prosecutors who refused to release Lebedev on parole.

He added that the prosecutor general will open a criminal case against the prosecutors who are believed to have made illegal decisions regarding Lebedev's relase.
Krasnov filed an appeal on June 28, but neither the resulting decisions nor a notification on the legal extension of the term for considering the appeal yet have been announced.

In late 2010, a Moscow district court sentenced Khodorkovsky and Lebedev to 14 years in prison for oil theft and money laundering. They were to be released in 2017, taking into consideration the time they had already served for their convictions from their first trial in 2005.

However, the Moscow City Court reduced their sentences by one year on May 24, 2011, and they are expected to be released in 2016.