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| Mikhail Khodorkovsky arrives in Germany after release from prison | Mikhail Khodorkovsky arrives in Germany after release from prison |
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| Mikhail Khodorkovsky has flown to Germany after Vladimir Putin signed a decree freeing him from a prison camp, bringing an end to more than a decade behind bars. | Mikhail Khodorkovsky has flown to Germany after Vladimir Putin signed a decree freeing him from a prison camp, bringing an end to more than a decade behind bars. |
| On Friday afternoon, the German foreign office confirmed that the former oligarch had arrived at Berlin's Schönefeld airport, where he was met by a foreign office representative. A spokesperson also confirmed that the German embassy in Moscow had facilitated the trip, reportedly by fast-tracking a visa application. | On Friday afternoon, the German foreign office confirmed that the former oligarch had arrived at Berlin's Schönefeld airport, where he was met by a foreign office representative. A spokesperson also confirmed that the German embassy in Moscow had facilitated the trip, reportedly by fast-tracking a visa application. |
| According to Der Spiegel, the diplomat who met Khodorkovsky was the former German foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, who helped to organised the chartered Cesna flight. The plane that Khodorkovsky travelled on was owned by the German businessman Ulrich Bettermann. The three men had met at an event at Berlin's Hotel Adlon in 2003, where Khodorkovsky had spoken highly critically about corruption and party finances in Russia. | |
| On Friday, Genscher told Der Spiegel that Khodorkovsky was "exhausted, but very happy to finally be free". | |
| Various reports claim that Khodorkovsky has travelled straight from the airport to the nearby Charité Campus Virchow clinic. A spokesperson from the clinic declined to confirm or deny the reports. | |
| Khodorkovsky's mother Marina was treated for cancer over several months at the Charité Campus Virchow clinic, but was released on 11 December, returning to Moscow afterwards. Genscher said that in the rush of his release, Khodorkovsky hadn't realised that his mother was already back in Russia, but that she was planning to travel to Berlin on Saturday to meet him. | |
| Marina Khodorkovsky told Reuters on Friday she was ready to fly anywhere to meet her son. "I want to just hug him. I don't even yet what I am going to say to him," she said. | Marina Khodorkovsky told Reuters on Friday she was ready to fly anywhere to meet her son. "I want to just hug him. I don't even yet what I am going to say to him," she said. |
| It is unclear whether Khodorkovsky will stay in Germany or travel on to Switzerland, as some media outlets have reported. | |
| Putin made the surprise announcement on Thursday that he planned to pardon Khodorkovsky, who was regarded by Kremlin critics as a political prisoner. The Russian president signed the decree – which pardoned Khodorkovsky on the basis of "the principles of humanism" – on Friday morning. In a statement on Friday the former oligarch said he had sought a pardon from the Russian president for family reasons and did not admit guilt. Khodorkovsky had been in jail since 2003 and was due for release next August. | |
| The former oligarch, who became a staunch Kremlin critic after being convicted of economic crimes in trials that many believe were politically motivated, was seen as a potential political threat to Putin if released. | The former oligarch, who became a staunch Kremlin critic after being convicted of economic crimes in trials that many believe were politically motivated, was seen as a potential political threat to Putin if released. |
| German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier welcomed Khodorkovsky's release as "a good sign" that Russia was prepared to have a conversation about human rights. There was an "obvious link" between timing of the release and the upcoming Sochi Winter Games, he said. | |
| But opposition-linked political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin said there was no need to see anything other than purely cynical motives in Putin's decision to free Khodorkovsky. He said: "Putin has seen that there is a real problem with his and Russia's image in the west, and the Olympic Games are coming. This was a carefully planned decision timed to happen just before Christmas, so everybody could write about it, think how great it is, and then forget about it in the new year." | |
| Oreshkin noted that Khodorkovsky's sentence was due to come to an end in nine months anyway, and said he was sure that Russian officials had "given him no option" but to ask for a pardon. | Oreshkin noted that Khodorkovsky's sentence was due to come to an end in nine months anyway, and said he was sure that Russian officials had "given him no option" but to ask for a pardon. |
| "Previously, Khodorkovsky has always refused to ask for a pardon, as it would suggest he recognises the legitimacy of the system and of the court cases against him. Whether they threatened him with a new case and a further seven or eight years in prison, or whether it was a statement about his mother's failing health, who knows." | "Previously, Khodorkovsky has always refused to ask for a pardon, as it would suggest he recognises the legitimacy of the system and of the court cases against him. Whether they threatened him with a new case and a further seven or eight years in prison, or whether it was a statement about his mother's failing health, who knows." |
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