MOSCOW, August 26 (RAPSI, Olga Siverkina) – The Kostroma Regional Court has upheld the lower court's decision to release from prison Vladimir Topekhin, a paralyzed Muscovite who was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 4 years, defense attorney Svetlana Sidorkina told RAPSI on Tuesday.

Topekhin was sentenced in January to six years in prison. In February, the Moscow City Court reduced the sentence to four years on appeal.

The former auditor was found guilty of defrauding out of 10 million rubles ($300,000) a man who had paid him for his help with opening a forensic investigation center in Moscow.

Prior to his arrest, Topekhin lost the ability to move his legs and one arm, apparently as a consequence of a car accident. He was denied release from pretrial detention and placed in a regular cell.

Topekhin’s attorney filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) seeking his immediate release from custody.

Kostroma’s Sverdlovsky District Court ordered to release Topekhin on July 3, however, the prosecutors filed an appeal against the ruling.
Topekhin will be put in a special hospital in Moscow after his release, Sidorkina said.