Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s mother, Marina is interviewed as she returns from her trip to Segezha, where she spent her four permitted hours with her imprisoned son.

Marina Khodorkovskaya is disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss Khodorkovsky’s appeal. Khodorkovsky himself, she said, did not expect positive results – ‘after the outrage during the Protests, I did not expect anything good’ she says, quoting her son. Nonetheless he seems to be as morally strong as always. She continues; his lawyers say that ‘we come to our meetings in a bad mood and we leave meetings in a good mood’.

Khodorkovsky never comments on his state of health, but his mother noted that he had lost a lot of weight compared to how he looked in the Moscow prison. This is probably because Khodorkovsky can currently only receive packages once every three months, compared to the weekly ones permitted in Moscow. Marina suggests that, regardless, they don’t let anything through… Visits are allowed once every two months, for four hours, which, of course, is not enough to talk about everything she would like to. ‘I was discussing the Supreme Court and, of course, home. We need to talk about everyone, four children and a granddaughter – there is something to say about every one of them, so four hours fly by very fast’.

Throughout the interview Marina comments on her experiences at the March of Millions protest, on 6th May in Moscow. She unfortunately could not discuss this properly with her son ‘because everything is being listened to’. Khodorkovsky, she says, is extremely against her attending any kinds of protests, but she will be going nonetheless – ‘I am as stubborn as he is’.

In less than a month, on 26th June, Khodorkovsky turns 49. She will be not be allowed to visit her son on his birthday. ‘I wish him freedom, or at least a reduction of his sentence. Every day in prison is terrible, so any reduction would be good’.

Source:  Khodorkovsky.ru