Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Photograph courtesy of Khodorkovsky/Lebedev
Russian President Vladimir Putin has pardoned and freed the former head of oil giant Yukos Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Putin said that Khodorkovsky asked him for clemency because his mother was ill, and Putin agreed on the basis of “the principles of humanity”.
Khodorkovsky has been in jail for a decade after he was convicted for tax evasion and theft in 2003, but many saw him as a political prisoner as he was a major donor to opposition parties in Russia. He was also convicted of stealing oil and money laundering in 2010, but was due for release in August 2015.
The former head of oil giant Yukos was reportedly freed from the penal colony in Segeza at around 12:20 local time (08:20 GMT).
Clemency for Khodorkovsky comes after the Russian State Duma voted in support of a wide-ranging amnesty for more than 20,000 prisoners currently sitting in Russian jails, including the members of punk band Pussy Riot and Greenpeace activists caught protesting at a Russian oil rig in the Arctic.
Some commentators have proposed that the amnesty for a number of people considered political prisoners may be Putin attempting to soften his image and avoid further protests at the upcoming Sochi Olympics, where gay rights campaigners have already promised to make a stand.