Lithuanian MP Emaneulis Zingeris, who sits on the Committee for Political Affairs and Democracy on the Council of Europe, has issued a video message to Russian political prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky ahead of the ten-year anniversary of his arrest.

In his statement, Zingeris remembers meeting Khodorkovsky ten years ago in Vilnius, when he had come to meet with then-President Valdas Adamkus to talk about Russia’s democratic future.

“At that time you said memorable words, that if one person takes the reigning position, there will be no democracy in your country. You said that because you were trying to help all democratic forces,” Zingeris said. “For many years, all of us have been thinking of you, of your attempts to make it possible for everyone to have their own opinions and their own views, different views of Russia’s future. You imagined a non-imperialistic Russia, the one that would not threaten its neighbours … and would peacefully cooperate together with other democratic countries.”

Zingeris continued: “We remember you and are counting days to the moment when you become free, and you see, people on Bolontnaya are behind you … and more and more of Russian intelligentsia and of ordinary Russians remember you and remember their debt to freedom. Your freedom is close, stand firm! All of us here at the Council of Europe remember you, and today many people in our faction raised their hands for sending everybody a letter from our faction remembering your bravery and lending our shoulders.”

Watch the full video statement from Emanuelis Zingeris here.

Watch more video interviews with supporters here.