Browder: Visa Ban More Likely To Bring Justice In Magnitsky Case Than Russian Probes

Wall Street Journal Blogs. By Samuel Rubenfeld

William Browder, head of the investment firm Hermitage Capital Management, sees a visa ban on officials allegedly connected to the death of the firm’s lawyer Sergei Magnitsky as a strategy with more hope of success than pursuing the matter in Russia.

The State Department this week announced it would deny visas to officials it said it suspected of being involved in Magnitsky’s death. The lawyer died in custody in 2009 after alleging that senior police officials had defrauded Hermitage, the same officials who then arrested him. A Russian investigative committee said this month that Magnitsky died of heart disease and hepatitis and opened criminal charges against a doctor and a prison official.

“Our main goal is to punish the people who tortured and killed him, but the probability in getting justice in Russia is very, very slim, and so we’ve been looking at ways of getting justice outside of Russia,” said Browder in an interview. “Therefore, the United States banning these people from coming into the U.S. is a very strong move, and will most likely be replicated in other countries, particularly in Europe.”

Magnitsky has been hailed around the world by anti-corruption activists as a martyr, and Browder has been the principal voice in keeping his case alive.

The visa ban by the U.S. State Department was a way to head off passage of a bill proposed by two U.S. Senators that would place a visa ban and an asset freeze on officials tied to Magnitsky’s death, and would apply to other cases such as the unsolved murder of investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya.

Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, stressed Wednesday during a press briefing that the ban should be seen “in the broader context of…upholding human rights obligations around the world.”

“In this specific case, it was the individuals that we believe are responsible for his death…The Magnitsky case has long been an issue of concern between us and Russia, and we’ve raised it with them many times,” Toner said.

The visa ban drew an angry response from Russia. Toner responded testily to questions Wednesday about the visa ban’s affect on U.S. relations with Russia.

“Our goal has always been to cooperate, as I said, where we’ve got these common interests. But that’s never going to be done at the expense of our principles or our friends,” Toner said.

Browder was undeterred in his support of the legislation, saying the bill strengthens the U.S. position vis-a-vis Russia.

“Russians make a lot of noise, but when push comes to shove they will not ruin their relationship with America to protect a number of corrupt torturers and murderers who work in their law-enforcement agencies,” Browder said.
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