Russia: Magnitskiy family slams “inhumane” reopening of tax evasion case

Interfax

The relatives of Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergey Magnitskiy, who died in pre-trial detention, are against the investigation into his [alleged] tax evasion being reopened.

According to a statement given by the lawyer for Magnitskiy’s wife, which was obtained by the Interfax news agency, the relatives consider it inhumane to pursue an investigation with respect to a deceased person.

“The right of close relatives to exoneration of the deceased is their exclusive right. This is why they maintain this right going forward, [to be able] to decide to reopen an investigation for the purpose of exoneration at their own discretion,” the document says.

“The family of S. Magnitskiy opposes the reopening and continuation of the criminal case with respect to their kin. They believe that continuing criminal prosecution of a deceased person is illegal, inhumane and immoral, because he is unable to defend himself. Moreover, one cannot expect the people who unfoundedly kept S. Magnitskiy in jail for a year to carry out an objective investigation of this case,” the statement says.

“The Constitutional Court of Russia, in its resolution of 14 July 2011, has granted the next of kin the right to reopen a criminal investigation after the death of the accused, solely for the purpose of exoneration,” the counsel for Magnitskiy’s family recalls.

The investigation earlier said that it was prepared to take the tax evasion case – the reason for Magnitskiy’s arrest – to court, if his family deemed this necessary.

“Currently, as part of additional investigation proceedings, investigators must ascertain the opinion of the family of S. Magnitskiy as regards the closing of the criminal case against him for the above-stated reasons. If they oppose (the closing of the case – Interfax), proceedings relating to this criminal case will continue and [the case will] then be sent to court for the collected evidence to be comprehensively evaluated and objectively assessed,” the press service of the investigations department of the Russian Interior Ministry told Interfax at the beginning of August.

In the words of the ministry, if the family chooses to terminate the criminal investigation, the preliminary investigation will not have legal grounds to argue that their legal interests were violated by the decision to close the criminal case. Moreover, assertions about the violation of Magnitskiy’s rights to exoneration are not determined by the intention to restore them. быстрые займы на карту займ на карту https://zp-pdl.com/online-payday-loans-in-america.php https://zp-pdl.com/emergency-payday-loans.php займ онлайн