USA TODAY: Tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been released from prison following President Vladimir Putin’s pardon, his spokeswoman told the Associated Press Friday…
Khodorkovsky spent 10 years in prison on charges of tax evasion and embezzlement. His arrest in 2003 and the subsequent prosecution have been widely considered to be Putin’s retribution for Khodorkovsky’s political ambitions…
The development — along with an amnesty for two jailed members of the Pussy Riot punk band and the 30-member crew of a Greenpeace protest ship — appears aimed at easing international criticism of Russia’s human rights record ahead of February’s Winter Olympics in Sochi, Putin’s pet project… (more)
