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Khodorkovsky 'flying to Germany' after Putin pardon | Khodorkovsky 'flying to Germany' after Putin pardon |
(35 minutes later) | |
Russian ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky is flying to Germany, hours after being pardoned by President Vladimir Putin, Russian news agencies report. | Russian ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky is flying to Germany, hours after being pardoned by President Vladimir Putin, Russian news agencies report. |
Mr Khodorkovsky had requested travel papers to see his sick mother who is being treated there, RIA Novosti quoted prison officials as saying. | Mr Khodorkovsky had requested travel papers to see his sick mother who is being treated there, RIA Novosti quoted prison officials as saying. |
Mr Putin signed a decree earlier pardoning Mr Khodorkovsky on the basis of "the principles of humanity". | Mr Putin signed a decree earlier pardoning Mr Khodorkovsky on the basis of "the principles of humanity". |
Mr Khodorkovsky, 50, had been in custody for a decade. | |
The former head of the now defunct oil giant Yukos, who was once Russia's richest man, had been jailed for tax evasion and theft after funding opposition parties. | |
'Personal request' | |
Mr Khodorkovsky left the penal colony where he was being held, in the Karelia region of north-western Russia, early on Friday afternoon. | |
Russia's Federal Penal Service, quoted by news agency Interfax, said: "In the course of his release, Khodorkovsky asked for a passport for foreign travel. His request was met. | |
"Once he was released from prison, he left for Germany, where his mother is undergoing treatment. | |
"We stress that the flight took place at his request and his exit documents were processed at his personal request." | |
Mr Khodorkovsky's mother, Marina, 79, has been being treated in Germany, although her current whereabouts are not certain. | |
Interfax also quoted Mr Khodorkovsky's press-secretary, Olga Pispanen, as saying she was unaware of his whereabouts. | |
Mr Khodorkovsky was jailed after being convicted of stealing oil and laundering money in 2010. | |
He had been in prison since 2003 when he was arrested and later convicted on charges of tax evasion. He was due to be released next August. | |
The presidential pardon came after Russian MPs on Wednesday backed a wide-ranging amnesty for at least 20,000 prisoners. | |
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 Sochi. |