Former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky says he is considering applying for political asylum in the UK and feels safe in London reports BBC.
Khodorkovsky is a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A Russian court had declared Khodorkovsky as "under arrest in absentia" over the 1990s murder of a Siberian mayor, the tycoon told BBC in an interview.
"Definitely I'm considering asking for asylum in the UK. Mr Putin "sees me - it's obvious now - as a serious threat", he said.
Khodorkovsky has already spent 10 years in a Siberian prison on fraud charges which he says were politically motivated. He was the former head of the now defunct Yukos oil firm and the richest man of Russia at one point in time.
Mr Putin pardoned him in 2013 and he now lives abroad, mainly in Switzerland.
"I'm considered by President Putin as a threat, economically, because of the possible seizure of Russian assets abroad, and politically, as someone who will potentially help democratic candidates in the coming 2016 elections," Khodorkovsky said.
Elections to the lower house of parliament in Russia - the State Duma – are scheduled to be held next year. Putin’s supporters dominate the Duma at present.
Khodorkovsky was asked about his feelings about his security following the murders of prominent opponents of Putin in recent years. Former secret agent Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned with radioactive polonium in a London hotel in 2006, was among those murdered.
"The history of deaths of opponents of this regime is impressive... but I was in jail for 10 years, I could have been killed any day easily. In London I feel much safer than during those years," Khodorkovsky said.
It is widely believed that one of the primary reasons for the early release of Khodorkovsky from the Siberian prison was a word that he would not get involved in politics and Khodorkovsky had reiterated this while leaving Russia in 2013.
However Khodorkovsky told BBC that he would "help young political activists in Russia to gain political experience and present an alternative to the existing regime".
While stating that a regime change in Russia was overly optimistic, Khodorkovsky said: "but I'm quite confident that within 10 years the regime will be changed and I hope I will play a significant role in that".
The Moscow authorities had "gone mad", he said earlier while referring to the Russian order for his arrest.
Khodorkovsky has been charged with orchestrating the murder of both the mayor and a businessman, who survived.
Vladimir Petukhov, the mayor of Nefteyugansk, had demanded that Khodorkovsky's oil firm, Yukos, pay taxes that the company had allegedly been avoiding. It is alleged that the mayor was subsequently killed on 26 June 1998 for this demand.
Russia's powerful Investigative Committee (SK) said in a statement that a local businessman Yevgeny Rybin was allegedly targeted because his activities "clashed with Yukos's interests".
Several people were injured and another man in the vehicle was killed when Rybin was attacked for a second time in his car in March 1999 following an earlier gun attack on him in November of 1998.
Yukos was broken up and taken over by a state oil firm after the arrest of Khodorkovsky in 2003.
(Source:www.bbc.com)
Khodorkovsky is a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A Russian court had declared Khodorkovsky as "under arrest in absentia" over the 1990s murder of a Siberian mayor, the tycoon told BBC in an interview.
"Definitely I'm considering asking for asylum in the UK. Mr Putin "sees me - it's obvious now - as a serious threat", he said.
Khodorkovsky has already spent 10 years in a Siberian prison on fraud charges which he says were politically motivated. He was the former head of the now defunct Yukos oil firm and the richest man of Russia at one point in time.
Mr Putin pardoned him in 2013 and he now lives abroad, mainly in Switzerland.
"I'm considered by President Putin as a threat, economically, because of the possible seizure of Russian assets abroad, and politically, as someone who will potentially help democratic candidates in the coming 2016 elections," Khodorkovsky said.
Elections to the lower house of parliament in Russia - the State Duma – are scheduled to be held next year. Putin’s supporters dominate the Duma at present.
Khodorkovsky was asked about his feelings about his security following the murders of prominent opponents of Putin in recent years. Former secret agent Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned with radioactive polonium in a London hotel in 2006, was among those murdered.
"The history of deaths of opponents of this regime is impressive... but I was in jail for 10 years, I could have been killed any day easily. In London I feel much safer than during those years," Khodorkovsky said.
It is widely believed that one of the primary reasons for the early release of Khodorkovsky from the Siberian prison was a word that he would not get involved in politics and Khodorkovsky had reiterated this while leaving Russia in 2013.
However Khodorkovsky told BBC that he would "help young political activists in Russia to gain political experience and present an alternative to the existing regime".
While stating that a regime change in Russia was overly optimistic, Khodorkovsky said: "but I'm quite confident that within 10 years the regime will be changed and I hope I will play a significant role in that".
The Moscow authorities had "gone mad", he said earlier while referring to the Russian order for his arrest.
Khodorkovsky has been charged with orchestrating the murder of both the mayor and a businessman, who survived.
Vladimir Petukhov, the mayor of Nefteyugansk, had demanded that Khodorkovsky's oil firm, Yukos, pay taxes that the company had allegedly been avoiding. It is alleged that the mayor was subsequently killed on 26 June 1998 for this demand.
Russia's powerful Investigative Committee (SK) said in a statement that a local businessman Yevgeny Rybin was allegedly targeted because his activities "clashed with Yukos's interests".
Several people were injured and another man in the vehicle was killed when Rybin was attacked for a second time in his car in March 1999 following an earlier gun attack on him in November of 1998.
Yukos was broken up and taken over by a state oil firm after the arrest of Khodorkovsky in 2003.
(Source:www.bbc.com)
