According to official reports, lawyers for British newspaper tycoon Conrad Black have asked for his release from a U. S. prison while his appeal is heard.

The Canadian newspaper National Post has reported that a recent Supreme Court ruling set aside three "honest services" fraud counts, returning the case to a lower court for reconsideration. An obstruction of justice conviction remains in place. But Washington lawyer Miguel Estrada argued in a brief that Black could end up spending more time behind bars than his eventual sentence if he is not freed.

Miguel Estrada, a Washington lawyer, argued, "At nearly 66 years of age, he has a particularly strong interest in bringing finality to these proceedings. Additional time he spends in prison between now and a favorable ruling can never be returned to him."

Including The Daily Telegraph in London, The Jerusalem Post, the National Post and the Chicago Sun-Times, Black, a Canadian-born, British peer known formally as Baron Black of Crossharbour, owned a string of newspapers.

The report further noted that he was convicted in 2007 of diverting money from his company, Hollinger International, to his own use and sentenced to 78 months. (With Inputs from Agencies)