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Khodorkovsky vows to stay out of politics, help free political prisoners

Mikhail Khodorkovsky speaks Sunday in Berlin during a news conference two days after his release from a Russian prison, where he had been held for a decade. (Associated Press)
Frank Jordans Associated Press

BERLIN – Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Russian oligarch who crossed President Vladimir Putin and ended up in jail for a decade, says he plans to devote his life to securing the freedom of the country’s political prisoners.

At a packed news conference just two days after his surprise release from a Russian jail, Khodorkovsky said Sunday that he wants to pay back all those who had worked so hard for his own release. But he dismissed any suggestion that he might take a leading role in Russian politics.

“The time that is left for me is time I would like to devote to the activity of paying back my debts to the people … and by that I mean the people who are still in prison,” the 50-year-old former oil tycoon said, naming several business associates who remain behind bars in Russia.

However, Khodorkovsky said he would not be “involved in the struggle for power” in Russia, nor fund opposition parties.

Khodorkovsky said his release shouldn’t be mistaken as a sign that there are no more political prisoners in Russia.

“You should see me as a symbol of the fact that the efforts of civil society can lead to the release also of those people whose freedom was never expected by anyone,” he said.

Khodorkovsky thanked the media, human rights groups and Western politicians who played a role in securing his release by drawing constant attention to his case. He said they also helped him keep up his spirits during the long ordeal.

“The most important thing for a prison inmate is hope,” he said.

Khodorkovsky was convicted in 2003 for tax evasion and money-laundering in cases widely criticized as revenge for his political activities. He was not due to be released from prison until next August.

He was serving his sentence at a penitentiary in the northwestern region of Karelia before his surprise release and flight to Berlin in a private jet on Friday.

During his 10-year imprisonment, Khodorkovsky transformed his image in the eyes of many from that of a ruthless oligarch into a prominent voice of dissent in Russia. He bolstered that aura with thoughtful editorials – written by hand, since no computers were allowed him in prison.

Some in the West had interpreted Khodorkovsky’s release, along with an amnesty that covers two members of the punk band Pussy Riot and the 30-member crew of a Greenpeace protest ship, as being aimed at easing international criticism of Russia’s human rights record ahead of February’s Winter Olympics in Sochi, Putin’s pet project.

Khodorkovsky said he opposed any boycott of the 2014 Winter Games.