[JURIST] Lawyers for former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky [advocacy website; JURIST news archive] filed a lawsuit Monday against Russian deputy chief prosecutor Viktor Grin and prosecutor Salavat Karimov, alleging that the two officials are ignoring a March court order [JURIST report] to transfer Khodorkovsky from a Siberian penal colony in Chita Oblast [Wikipedia backgrounder] to a detention facility in Moscow. The transfer order, which was challenged by prosecutors but upheld [JURIST report] in April, was made to facilitate a new investigation of money laundering charges [JURIST report] against Khodorkovsky.

Khodorkovsky, who was convicted of tax evasion [JURIST report] in May 2005, is currently serving an eight-year prison term. Prosecutors filed additional money laundering charges against him in February 2007 based on allegations that Khodorkovsky used his Open Russia Foundation [SourceWatch backgrounder] to divert oil revenues away from Yukos. If convicted on the new charges, Khodorkovsky could serve up to 15 more years in prison. Both the United States and Khodorkovsky [JURIST reports] have lambasted the additional embezzlement and money laundering charges as politically motivated, a charge Russia has denied [JURIST report]. AP has more.