[JURIST] A city court in Siberia where former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky [MosNews profile; JURIST news archive] is currently in prison ruled Tuesday that his 5-day transfer to solitary confinement earlier this year was unlawful. Khodorkovsky [defense website] was temporarily held in an isolated cell after prison officials found Justice Ministry documents on prisoners' rights in his cell. The court in Krasnokamensk ruled that these were not confidential documents since they had already been published in the media, so he was entitled to have them.

Khodorkovsky is serving an eight-year prison term for fraud and tax evasion convictions [JURIST report] and was hospitalized [JURIST report] last week after another inmate stabbed him in the face while he slept. A lawyer representing the former Yukos [corporate website] oil company executive said he plans to file a complaint against another solitary confinement punishment issued when Khodorkovsky drank tea in an unauthorized place. His lawyers claim that the punishments are being handed out in an attempt to prevent Khodorkovsky from obtaining parole in the future. AP has more. MosNews has local coverage.