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| Khodorkovsky vows to help Russian political prisoners | Khodorkovsky vows to help Russian political prisoners |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has said he will do all he can to ensure the release of other Russian political prisoners. | Former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has said he will do all he can to ensure the release of other Russian political prisoners. |
| At a news conference in Berlin, he thanked his supporters and German Chancellor Angela Merkel for helping to secure his release. | |
| He said he only found out he was being sent to Berlin on the day he was freed. | He said he only found out he was being sent to Berlin on the day he was freed. |
| Khodorkovsky was released on Friday, after spending 10 years in a Russian prison for fraud and tax evasion. | Khodorkovsky was released on Friday, after spending 10 years in a Russian prison for fraud and tax evasion. |
| He always insisted that his conviction was politically motivated. | He always insisted that his conviction was politically motivated. |
| At the time of his arrest he was Russia's richest man. and he used some of his wealth to fund opposition parties. | At the time of his arrest he was Russia's richest man. and he used some of his wealth to fund opposition parties. |
| He became the country's best-known political prisoner. | He became the country's best-known political prisoner. |
| Political symbol? | |
| Khodorkovsky said there was a need "to make sure that in Russia and in any other countries in the world there won't be political prisoners". | |
| He said he hoped Western leaders would remember that when they visited President Putin. | |
| He insisted he would not get involved in Russian politics himself, saying: "The struggle for power is not for me". | |
| But the BBC's Stephen Evans in Berlin said it is clear that Khodorkovsky is happy to become a symbol of those who are still imprisoned. | |
| The former tycoon also spent a lot of time thanking his supporters. | |
| As well as Mrs Merkel, he mentioned the former German foreign minister Hans Dietrich Genscher. | |
| "He made it possible for us to have reached this point now," he said of Mr Genscher. | |
| Earlier, the former billionaire told a Russian magazine he did not intend to fight for the return of assets from his disbanded oil company, Yukos. |