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Khodorkovsky: pardon request did not include issue of being found guilty

He requested that Russia’s President pardons him “due to family reasons”

© Press center of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev/khodorkovsky.ru

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BERLIN, December 20. /ITAR-TASS/.Mikhail Khodorkovsky has arrived in Berlin. A private jet took him to the Schönefeld Airport, said Hans-Dietrich Genscher, former Foreign Minister of Germany, who met him the former head of Yukos as he arrived. According to media reports, the German politician had asked the OBO Betterman Group to provide a plane for Khodorkovsky.

Germany’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed Khodorkovsky’s arrival to Berlin. According to sources from the ministry, German embassy to Moscow took part in organizing his travel to the country. An employee of Germany’s Foreign Ministry has assisted former Yukos head in processing necessary paperwork for his arrival.

The Federal Penitentiary Service has previously announced that after being freed he has made a personal request to process his papers in order to be allowed to travel abroad. Afterwards, he left for Germany, where his mother was said to be undergoing treatment, a representative of the service told ITAR-TASS.

Mikhail Khodorkovskiy is feeling fine, his daughter Anastasia said in a live interview with Dozhd television channel.

“Dad has never complained about his health and always says that everything’s fine,” she said.

She added that Khodorkovskiy is generally in good physical shape, “although there are some faults; after all, it’s impossible to be completely healthy in the place where he was held.”

Earlier Friday the Kremlin’s press service has announced that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to pardon former head of Yukos Mikhail Khodorkovskiy, freeing him from incarceration. “Guided by the principles of humanity, declare: to free convicted Khodorkovskiy Mikhail Borisovich, born 1963 in Moscow, freeing him from further serving his sentence in the form of incarceration.”

Mikhail Khodorkovsky later announced that he requested that Russia’s President pardons him “due to family reasons” and that “he is happy with the positive decision.” “There was no issue on determining guilt,” reads the statement, which was published by the press secretary of the former head of Yukos.

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