Speaking in a taped interview with Khodorkovksy.com, President of the NGO Freedom House David Kramer said that Mikhail Khodorkovsky has exhibited “grace and dignity” throughout the past decade of his unlawful imprisonment, and that his recent nomination by the European Parliament for the Sakharov Prize speaks highly of his respected image.

Kramer, whose organisation has encouraged the U.S. government to take a strong stand on human rights in Russia, also said that the release of Khodorkovsky would be welcomed as a gesture of goodwill, but would be most important for Russia itself, in that opposition to the parties in power must be tolerated.

“I think Khodorkovsky has handled his situation with tremendous grace and dignity,” Kramer commented with regard to the upcoming 10th anniversary. “He is a man who was at the top of his game a decade ago – Russia’s richest man – someone who decided it was time to support civil society, even venture into some opposition activities, and he clearly crossed wires with President Putin and paid a dear price for that.”

The Freedom House president also said that Khodorkovsky’s public image has changed over the years:

“I think the fact that the European Parliament has nominated him for the Sakharov Prize speaks very highly of his image these days, at least outside of Russia. (…) I think that means it is incumbent upon all of us who have the ability to do so to bring more attention to his situation, to shed light on the fact that he has been languishing in prison for now just about a decade, has faced two cases that most people have viewed as fabricated and spurious. (…) I think it is important now, not only for the United States, but for European nations and Russians themselves, to make sure that they do everything they can to call for justice to be done and for these, I would argue, manipulated charges and convictions to be dropped.”

Kramer, who in the past has been vocally supportive of the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Act, which proposes visa sanctions against individual Russian officials accused of violations, said that he hopes the list expands: “The Magnitsky list needs to widen its scope to cover other cases. If there is a third case brought against Khodorkovsky, I would suggest that the officials involved in that case be considered for inclusion on the list.”

Watch the full video interview with Kramer here.