The BBC’s Moscow correspondent, Daniel Sandford joined Marina Khodorkovskya on her 20-hour train journey to Segezha, to visit her son in the penal colony ahead of his 50^th birthday. In an interview with the BBC, Marina described the circumstances she faces when she visits Mikhail. “It is a long room divided into two with prisoners on one side and relatives on the other,” she explained. “Then there are partitions – each with a little desk and a phone set on either side of the thick glass.”

She also described her feelings towards those responsible for Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s imprisonment, describing them as “people who are ready to destroy the lives of people, and their wives and children, just for money.”

The cameras were not allowed near the prison, of course, and Sandford described the warnings his film crew received from the prison authorities. “The Mikhail Khodorkovsky case is so sensitive that the head of the prison himself told me that if the camera crew comes within 50 metres of the jail we’ll all be arrested,” he explained.

Through Marina, he asked if Khodorkovsky had a message for those currently facing politically motivated trials, such as Alexey Navalny and the Bolotnaya Square protesters. Marina relayed the answer that, “Because our courts are unfair, it is hard to stay strong. But people need to be honest, tell the truth and speak out. They should not be afraid.”

The report on the visit broadcast on BBC World can be viewed here.

The BBC’s online report, including additional footage from the interview with Marina Khodorkovskaya, can be found here.