FREE AT LAST: Hans-Dietrich Genscher (right) of Germany’s liberal Free Democratic Party welcomes Khodorkovsky at Berlin’s Schonefeld airport. — Reuters photo l See also Page A7
BERLIN: Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been reunited with his son in Berlin, after being freed from jail following a surprise pardon by President VladimirPutin, a spokeswoman for the former tycoon said on Saturday.
“The eldest son of Mikhail Borisovich, Pavel, has already seen his dad,” a spokeswoman for Khodorkovsky, Olga Pispanen, said on Russian radio Echo of Moscow. “They are now together in Berlin.”
Khodorkovsky’s parents, Marina and Boris, were also preparing to fly out to Germany to “finally see and hug him,” the spokeswoman added.
Released on Friday after 10 years behind bars, Khodorkovsky is “feeling well” and will give a news conference on Sunday, she said, with the date and place to be confirmed later.
Khodorkovsky’s 79-year-old mother, who has cancer, said she was taking sedatives to help her cope with the strong emotions sparked by his release.
“We survived grief but it is also apparently hard to survive joy,” Marina Khodorkovskaya said in an interview broadcast on Russian state television on Saturday.
Putin stunned Russia on Thursday by revealing that Khodorkovsky had turned to him for pardon on humanitarian grounds, citing his mother’s health.
In a head-spinning succession of events, less than 24 hours later Khodorkovsky was granted pardon, walked out of prison and flew to Germany in a secret operation worked out behind the scenes with Berlin. — AFP