In an exclusive taped interview with Khodorkovsky.com, Member of European Parliament (MEP) and ALDE spokesperson Russia Kristiina Ojuland says that many European leaders continue to fight for the release of Russian political prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

“Mikhail Khodorkovsky has spent almost a decade in prison – a decade of injustice,” said Ojuland, describing his persecution as politically motivated. “There are many of us across Europe who have not forgotten Khodorkovsky and will continue fighting for him to be released and for justice to be done.”

Ojuland, who has been one of the leading voices in European Parliament to apply targeted sanctions against individual Russian officials accused of human rights violations, commented that Khodorkovsky’s plight is a symptom of a wider trend.

“Khodorkovsky’s case is a reflection of the deterioration in the rule of law and human rights in today’s Russia,” she said. “Russia is a great country, but it is heading down the wrong road; a road characterized by authoritarianism and repression. No country that supposedly adheres to European values should lock up people for their political beliefs and activities. My hope for this year is that Russia begins to change, and the surest sign of change would be the release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky.”

Watch the full video interview here.