Exclusive: Khodorkovsky, Russia’s Most Famous Prisoner, Speaks Out
Le Monde releases an exclusive interview with Mikhail Khodorkovsky by Moscow-based correspondent Marie Jego, entitled "I am fighting for my freedom."
Jego states that the accusations against Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev are unbelievable, given that they would have had to have stolen more oil than YUKOS was able to produce. When asked about these charges, Khodorkovsky said: "This second trial only aims to hide the abuses of the last one, to hide personal profits which have followed the destruction of YUKOS. Who needs such a trial? Some second or third string civil servants. Their interests are derisory." He continued: "The dismantling of YUKOS resulted in a number of acts of corruption. Just to mention one of them, nobody is able to say where the $5 million seized by the administration in 2004 has gone."
Khodorkovsky also said that he does not intend to become a politician in the future, he said: "While it is true that in Russia, any public activity is considered to be political." When asked whether he had been naïve when deciding to stay in Russia in 2003, he only acknowledged that he had "overestimated the level of independence and democracy of the Russian judiciary," but also said that he "could not abandon Platon Lebedev and his colleagues and friends."
Khodorkovsky explained that the most important thing is to "wake up Russian citizens' potential in terms of creativity," which requires a change in Russian politics. He concluded the interview by thanking all foreign personalities who have come to attend the trial, as he believes it is fundamental that foreign decision-makers and businessmen understand what really happens in Russia.