Russian Human Rights Lawyer Shmidt To Be Buried On January 16

Yury Shmidt played leading roles in numerous high-profile cases such as the killings of Duma Deputy Galina Starovoitova and Duma Deputy Sergei Yushenko.

The funeral of leading Russian defense lawyer Yury Shmidt will be held in St. Petersburg on January 16.

The announcement was made by Shmidt's friend, Legislative Assembly Deputy Boris Vishnevsky.

Shmidt -- who played leading roles in numerous high-profile cases such as the killings of Duma Deputy Galina Starovoitova and Duma Deputy Sergei Yushenko -- died in St. Petersburg on January 12 following a long illness, aged 75.

Shmidt also headed the defense in the case of former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

He was the laureate of numerous international and Russian legal and human rights awards.

Both of Shmidt's parents were sent to Siberian exile during the 1930s.

Yabloko party head Sergei Mitrokhin told journalists that Shmidt's work will go down in the annals of Russian legal history.

Based on reporting by Balt.ru, Lenta.ru, Interfax, and Gazeta.ru