Khodorkovsky arrives in Switzerland

Mikhail Khodorkovsky took the long way to Switzerland, to avoid the spotlight Reuters

Russian oil tycoon and recently released prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky travelled with his wife and children to Switzerland on Sunday, arriving by train from Berlin.

The 50-year-old Kremlin critic told Swiss public television, SRF, that his two sons – who have been living in Switzerland with his wife – would be starting school soon and he wanted to be there with them.

Khodorkovsky was granted a visa on December 30. It allows him to travel freely within the 26-nation Schengen area, which includes Switzerland and much of the European Union, but not Britain.

The former oil magnate told Swiss television that while in Switzerland he would fight to free political prisoners in Russia.

“I believe that it’s every citizen’s responsibility to work to free people who have been locked away without justification,” Khodorkovsky said.

His agent said the family thanked Switzerland for the chance to be together, and he especially thanked “the Swiss authorities for their clear position during the long years of his unjust imprisonment”.

Khodorkovsky flew to to Berlin on December 20, hours after being pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin and released from decade-long imprisonment.

Once the wealthiest man in Russia as owner of the Yukos oil company, Khodorkovsky was imprisoned in 2003 on charges of fraud and tax evasion.

He was considered by Switzerland and the West to be a political prisoner, since his charges were viewed as a trumped-up warning from Putin to anyone who might defy him.