Sergei Magnitsky: The struggle for justice

Henry Jackson Society

Unlawfully arrested, tortured and murdered in Russian prison, Sergei Magnitsky paid for his fight against corruption in Russia with his life. While the severity of this human rights abuse has grabbed international attention, an even graver concern is that the Russian investigation has stagnated, providing no conclusion, justice or punishment for those involved.

Downing Street’s lack of response to the incident is embarrassing. Sixty Russian officials have been implicated in the unlawful arrest, torture and death of Mr. Magnitsky through international investigations. The European Parliament, US Congress and Canadian Parliament have revoked visa rights and frozen the assets of those involved.

In contrast, the House of Common’s Early Day Motion, though moving, has only garnered 22 signatures. The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergai Lavrov, visited London in mid-February, but no mention of Russia’s ongoing human rights abuse was made. It wasn’t until this Wednesday that Prime Minister Cameron openly expressed his concern for the tragedy and lack of justice in Russia.

Finally, Prime Minister Cameron is sending the message that this type of incident doesn’t go unnoticed. We can only hope that the struggle for justice finds fruition when Prime Minister Cameron addresses the incident in his upcoming visit to Russia.

Magnitsky’s former boss, Bill Browder, has refused to let this blatant violation of human rights and rule of law be pushed to the periphery of UK-Russian relations. Mr Browder has appealed to the international community with varying degrees of success, but the response has yet to motivate justice in Russia. In fact, the one-year anniversary of Mr Magnitsky’s death resulted in promotions and state honours for officials involved in the incident.

Sergei Magnitsky was not the first anti-corruption advocate to be murdered in Russia, nor, unfortunately, will he be the last if this serious lack of accountability from the international community continues. Given the recent events in North Africa, the fact that Libya once held a position on the UN Human Rights Council is disgraceful, but the fact that Russia is also a member of said council and holds veto power over UN intervention in Libya is an outrage. Corruption, human rights violations and disregard for rule of law pervade the circumstances of Mr Magnitsky’s death. Prime Minister Cameron must address this incident with strong UK condemnation. займы без отказа займ онлайн на карту без отказа https://www.zp-pdl.com https://zp-pdl.com/online-payday-loans-in-america.php микрозаймы онлайн