ARKHANGELSK, September 16- RAPSI. Former Menatep head Platon Lebedev will appeal in the Supreme Court a lower-court's decision denying him parole, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI) on Friday.

The YUKOS case has been Russia's most high-profile court case in recent years.

In the early 2000s when YUKOS was the country's largest oil company, the authorities charged its executives with embezzlement and tax evasion.

In 2005, the court sentenced YUKOS CEO Khodorkovsky and his codefendant, former Menatep head Platon Lebedev, to eight years in prison. Many Western critics said the case against YUKOS was politically driven, but the Russian government has flatly denied this allegation.

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, taking into account the time they had already served for their convictions from their first trial in 2005.

However, the Moscow City Court reduced their sentences by one year each on May 24. The two are now expected to be released in 2016.
In late July, a court held against Lebedevs first parole application. The decision has not entered into force, since he filed a cassation appeal with a higher court.

The Arkhangelsk Region Court validated the decision to deny Lebedev parole on Friday.