MOSCOW — Platon Lebedev, chief of Menatep, has explained his refusal to be present in court during examination of his cassation appeal against his 9-year sentence. He said that he had obtained evidence to the fact that the sentence announced on May 16 did not fully correspond to the copy of this sentence which he received on June 7. He declared he could see no point in pretending further that the proceedings were legitimate, and playing his part in the show, for Russia's law and the Constitution provided for more appropriate means to protect his rights than cassation appeals. He announced that the court of cassation had been making illegal decision concerning his term in custody for two years, and had ignored the Constitution and a ruling of the Constitutional Court.

Nevertheless, the Menatep chief has left it up to his lawyers to protect his interests in court of cassation. He said that he himself would be preparing to appear before the Supreme Court of Russia and the European Court of Human Rights.