Putin 'to pardon' jailed former oil tycoon Khodorkovsky

Mikhail Khodorkovsky was once Russia's richest man
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he will soon pardon jailed
former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Mr Putin said he had received a request from Khodorkovsky - in custody
for a decade - to pardon him on humanitarian grounds as his mother is
ill.
Khodorkovsky's representatives said they needed to meet him before
commenting but that the family would be "elated to see him finally
freed".
On Wednesday, MPs backed a wide-ranging amnesty for at least 20,000 prisoners.
Speaking to reporters after his annual news conference in Moscow on
Thursday, Mr Putin confirmed the amnesty would apply to the two
members of punk band Pussy Riot still in prison and Greenpeace
activists detained for their protest at a Russian oil rig in the
Arctic.
Analysts say Mr Putin may be trying to ease international criticism of
Russia's human rights record ahead of February's Winter Olympics in
the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
'Serious punishment'