Switzerland Grants Visa To Khodorkovsky

Freed Russian former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky speaks at a news conference in the Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin on December 22.

Switzerland has granted a visa to former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Alexandra Baumann, a spokeswoman for the Swiss Embassy in Berlin, said on December 30 that Khodorkovsky's application for the three-month visa had been approved.

The visa allows him to travel freely within the 26-country Schengen area, which includes Switzerland and much of the European Union, but not Britain.

Khodorkovsky's sons go to school in Switzerland and he has business ties there.

Khodorkovsky flew to Berlin on December 20, hours after being pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin and released from a decade-long imprisonment.

The German government has already given him a one-year visa for Germany.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP