Khodorkovsky: Will seek to free political inmates
Source: AP-Excite
By FRANK JORDANS
BERLIN (AP) - At an emotional press conference barely two days after he was freed from a Russian jail, Mikhail Khodorkovsky vowed Sunday to do all he can to ensure the release of other political prisoners in Russia.
The former oil tycoon spent 10 years in jail on what the West considers trumped-up political charges by President Vladimir Putin's government. He was pardoned Friday by Putin and immediately flew to Berlin, where he held a tumultuous news conference Sunday.
The robust but slightly disoriented 50-year-old said he shouldn't be viewed as a symbol that there are no more political prisoners in Russia. He added that he would do "all I can do" to ensure the release of others.
"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," he said.
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Mikhail Khodorkovsky, center, arrives at his first news conference after his release in Berlin, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013. The former oil baron and prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was reunited with his family in Berlin on Saturday, a day after being released from a decade-long imprisonment in Russia. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)