MOSCOW, November 21 (RAPSI) - Marat Minlikeyev, a Russian national convicted and sentenced to 34 years by a Thai court for a bank robbery in which a police officer was killed in 2003, has been released on parole, RIA Novosti reports on Friday, citing Head of the Consular Department of the Russian Embassy in Bangkok Vladimir Sosnov.

The consul revealed that Minlikeyev’s term was reduced significantly due to amnesties over the past ten years related to the national holidays and anniversaries of the Thai monarchy. Officially, his term expires in March 2015.

The diplomat added that Minlikeyev’s parole petition was supported by his sister and the Russian Embassy in Thailand.

Marat Minlikeyev, of Ufa, and two other Russian citizens, Rinat Kudoyarov and Feliks Cheremnykh, were convicted of robbing a bank in Pattaya. A police officer was killed in the robbery. Kudoyarov was sentenced to death while Minlikeyev and Cheremnykh were to serve long prison terms. Later, Kudoyarov’s death penalty was replaced by a life term and later reduced. Currently, Thai officials are considering his petition for pardon. If rejected, Kudoyarov will remain incarcerated until 2023. Cheremnykh, whose parole application was denied, will be released in 2019.