He has the power to reduce the sentence to life in prison, although such reductions of jury-imposed sentences are rare.

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Lutsenko, former Minister of the Interior, had been serving a four-year sentence for abuse of power, as the result of selective justice.

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Anwar is already serving a six-year sentence for abuse of power.

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The result of all this is that the prosecutor, in effect, has the power both to determine a defendant's sentence, and to undercut the supposed sentencing uniformity the guidelines were meant to achieve.

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Mr Justice Wilkie said that while the men would be eligible for release after serving two-thirds of their sentence, the Parole Board would have the power to keep them in jail for the whole 11 years.

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Anwar is already serving a six-year sentence from his previous conviction in another controversial trial, his abuse of power case.

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Mr Grieve must decide by 8 April - 28 days after the original sentence - whether to refer the case to the Court of Appeal, which has the power to either increase the sentences or leave them the same.

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