MOSCOW, September 3 (RAPSI) – A court in the Irkutsk Region has granted parole for Alexander Makarov, former Tomsk mayor who was serving a long prison term for bribe taking, RIA Novosti reported on Thursday, citing Makarov’s spouse, Yelena.

Makarov is to be released on September 14, his wife said. She added that the prosecution had supported the parole application.

“So we don’t expect the prosecution to appeal against the court’s decision,” Yelena Makarova said.

A criminal case was opened against Makarov in December 2006. The Tomsk Regional Court found Makarov guilty of abuse of office and taking bribes and sentenced him to 12 years in prison on November 15, 2010. He was expected to spend about nine years in prison, taking into account the time he spent in the pre-trial detention center and his six-month home arrest. In October 2011, the Supreme Court reduced his sentence by four months. Makarov was to be released in 2019.

In November 2011, Makarov was transferred from a pretrial detention ward to a prison in Tomsk. In late February 2012, he was transferred to Irkutsk for reasons of personal safety.