Grigory Grabovoi, a self-proclaimed miracle worker who promised to resurrect Beslan children, was released on parole Friday and has offered to use his “powers” to help victims of the Raspadskaya mine blasts.
Grabovoi was whisked away from prison gates in a new BMW sedan driven by his wife, Yelena, as policemen barred the media from the prison entrance, news agencies reported.
Grabovoi had “mended his ways,” his lawyers said earlier.
But he will continue his “healing practices,” Grabovoi's lawyer Vyacheslav Konev told the Perm Regional Court on Thursday.
Grabovoi could help locate miners missing in the Raspadskaya mine in Kemerovo region, free of charge, Konev said.
Twin explosions on May 8-9 killed 90 people, including 23 people who are missing and presumed dead.
Grabovoi gained notoriety in 2004 when his claims to resurrect the dead — for a price — attracted several mothers of the 180 children killed in a terrorist attack on the Beslan school.
In 2006, Grabovoi voiced plans to run for president, but his political career was cut short by his arrest on fraud charges. He was sentenced to 11 years in 2008, but the term was reduced to eight upon appeal.
Grabovoi served half of his term in the small town of Bereznyaki in the Urals before being freed for good behavior despite objections from the prosecution.
Grabovoi's supporters in several Russian regions and Ukraine declined to speak to The Moscow Times about the release of their leader. A supporter in Kiev said he would only speak after reading all The Moscow Times' articles about Grabovoi.
Grabovoi was freed because he poses no political risk but might face new criminal charges if he meddles in the Raspadskaya tragedy, said Alexei Mukhin, an analyst with the Center for Political Information.