[JURIST] Former Russian Atomic Energy Minister Yevgeny Adamov [Kommersant backgrounder, JURIST news archive] was released from prison Thursday after a Moscow City Court suspended his sentence. Adamov was convicted [JURIST report] on charges of fraud and abuse of office in February and sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison by Moscow's Zamoskvoretsky District Court. Adamov said he plans to appeal the verdict and seek his formal acquittal. AP has more. RIA Novosti has local coverage.

Adamov was convicted for his involvement in a corruption scheme which misappropriated $31 million in US aid designated to upgrade unsafe Russian RBMK nuclear reactors [GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. He was arrested [JURIST report] in Switzerland in 2005 on a US warrant on charges of fraud and money laundering. Despite repeated US extradition requests, the Swiss Supreme Court ruled that Adamov should be tried in Russia [JURIST report] because he is a Russian citizen and his crimes were allegedly committed in Russia. In August 2006, Adamov's case was thrown out due to factual errors in court filings [JURIST report]; the latest proceedings began in April 2007. The US charges are still pending.