MOSCOW, October 19 - RAPSI. Former YUKOS CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky's defense team has filed a repeat request with the Moscow City Court to advise them of when its presidium will hear his sentencing appeal, the press center representing Khodorkovsky reports on Friday.

Attorney Vadim Klyuvgant filed a similar request with the court and a copy with the Supreme Court on September 18, but never received a reply.

He pointed out that the defense is so far unaware of the hearing date, time and venue, and demanded the information without delay.

The YUKOS case has been one of the most high profile in Russia over recent years. In the early 2000s, the authorities accused Khodorkovsky and his partner Platon Lebedev of economic crimes. 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, although Moscow denies the 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, considering 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.