Mikhail Khodorkovsky applies for Swiss visa

Mikhail Khodorkovsky has applied for a visa to travel to Switzerland, the Swiss foreign ministry says.

A ministry’s spokesman said Russian former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky submitted his request for a three-month Schengen visa at the Swiss embassy in Berlin.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, 50, a staunch critic of President Vladimir Putin, spent 10 years in a Russian prison for fraud and tax evasion.

He was pardoned and freed on Friday and immediately flew to Germany.

Swiss foreign ministry spokesman Stefan von Below told the Associated Press news agency that the three-month visa request would probably be processed in the coming days.

He declined to give further details.

Schengen visas allow holders to travel to most EU countries without having their passports or other documents checked at the border.

Earlier, Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s spokeswoman, Olga Pispanen, told AFP news agency that he was considering moving to Switzerland where his twin sons go to school.

Olga Pispanen said he was due to be reunited with his wife, Inna, and their three children in Berlin on Christmas Eve and he planned to discuss the idea with them.

“He is waiting for the family’s arrival. They will sit down and discuss everything,” she added.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky has always insisted that his conviction was politically motivated.

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