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Putin signs Khodorkovsky pardon Russia frees Khodorkovsky after Putin signs pardon
(35 minutes later)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree pardoning jailed former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, state media says. Former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been released from custody following a pardon from Russian President Vladimir Putin, officials say.
The decree pardoned Khodorkovsky on the basis of "the principles of humanity", according to Interfax news agency. Mr Putin signed a decree earlier pardoning Khodorkovsky on the basis of "the principles of humanity".
The former head of oil giant Yukos had asked Mr Putin to pardon him because his mother is ill. The president said on Thursday that the former oil magnate had asked him for clemency because his mother was ill.
Khodorkovsky - in custody for a decade - was jailed for tax evasion and theft after funding opposition parties.Khodorkovsky - in custody for a decade - was jailed for tax evasion and theft after funding opposition parties.
Surprise
The pardon comes after Russian MPs backed a wide-ranging amnesty for at least 20,000 prisoners.
A document published by the Kremlin on Friday said the decree would come into force from the day of its signing.
Khodorkovsky, 50, was freed from custody shortly afterwards, according to prison officials in the Karelia region of north-western Russia. There was no confirmation he had yet left jail but a security source told Interfax news agency that he had left at around 12:20 (08:20 GMT).
He was being held in a prison colony in Segezha after being convicted of stealing oil and laundering money in 2010. He was already serving time on a tax evasion conviction from 2003.
Mr Putin's announcement on Thursday that Khodorkovsky had asked for a pardon came as a surprise to commentators.
In a statement on his website, Khodorkovsky's lawyers said they could not comment on whether a request had been made.
The former head of the now defunct oil giant Yukos, who was once Russia's richest man, had repeatedly said he would not ask Mr Putin for a pardon because it would be tantamount to admitting guilt.
The Kommersant newspaper, citing unnamed sources, said on Friday Khodorkovsky had made the decision to seek a pardon following the threat of a third trial against him.
Amnesty
"I still don't know anything. I'm getting everything from the media. Right now I'm watching it on TV," Interfax quoted Khodorkovsky's mother, Marina, as saying.
She had earlier told BBC Russian she did not know about any clemency request by her son.
The amnesty passed in the State Duma on Wednesday covers at least 20,000 prisoners, including minors, disabled people, veterans, pregnant women and mothers.
Mr Putin confirmed it would apply to the two members of punk band Pussy Riot still in prison and Greenpeace activists detained for their protest at a Russian oil rig in the Arctic.
Analysts say Mr Putin may be trying to ease international criticism of Russia's human rights record ahead of February's Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.