A Russian court has shortened the sentence for Platon Lebedev, former business partner of Mikhail Khodorkovskiy, and he will be released from prison in July 2013, RIA Novosti news agency reported on Thursday.

The Velskiy district court of Arkhangelsk region shortened Lebedev's sentence by three years – from 13 to 10 years. The ruling came after changes in Russia's criminal code which softened punishment for commercial crimes.

Lebedev's defense lawyers demanded his case be re-qualified according to these changes and demanded "an adequate and reasonable" punishment.
Mikhail Khodorkovskiy and Platon Lebedev have been in jail since 2003. In 2005 and 2010 they were convicted for evading taxes and fraud.

In August 2012 the Velskiy district court decided to shorten Platon Lebedev's jail time from 13 years to 9 years and 8 months. However, the prosecutor said that he saw no reason for it, and asked the judge to soften the term from 13 years to 11 years and three months.

Platon Lebedev is now set to be released in July 2013.