Magnitsky’s family skeptical about new forensic study into his death

Interfax

The defense team of the family of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer for the investment foundation Hermitage Capital, who died in detention in 2009, is skeptical about an expert examination ordered by the investigation to find out whether Magnitsky had been subjected to torture.

“Three forensic medical examinations have already been carried out. However strange as it may seem, none of them concluded that he had really been subjected to violence, although they found obvious things, like marks on his hands, for instance,” Yelena Oreshnikova, a lawyer for Magnitsky’s widow, told Interfax on Tuesday.

It is strange that such an examination has been ordered so long after Magnitsky’s death, she said.

Oreshnikova insisted that the list of people suspected of causing Magnitsky’s death must be broadened. The Investigative Committee reported earlier that an investigation against two doctors from the Butyrka detention facility had been completed. “These are not all those who have to be held liable,” Oreshnikova said.

Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin had told Interfax earlier on Tuesday that a new expert examination had been ordered. “At the request of the injured party and its representatives, the Investigative Committee has ordered a forensic study under the probe into Sergei Magnitsky’s death,” Markin said.

“The study is to establish whether the circumstances of Magnitsky’s confinement can be qualified as torture in the criminal-legal meaning of the word,” he said.

An additional inquiry will also have to be conducted into a file obtained from the Kremlin Human Rights Council in December 2011, listing arguments by representatives of public organizations, suggesting that official misdemeanors were committed against Magnitsky during his criminal prosecution and on the day he died at Matrosskaya Tishina pre-trial detention facility, Markin said.

Therefore, the unclosed criminal probe has been extended until April 24, 2012, Markin said.

Magnitsky died in the Matrosskaya Tishina detention facility on November 16, 2009, at the age of 37. He was charged with tax evasion (a crime enshrined by Article 199 of the Russian Criminal Code). It was officially announced at first that his death was caused by acute heart failure.

It was reported that Magnitsky had complained about his health on numerous occasions and asked for a medical examination. His death drew a broad public response. Human rights activists accused doctors and officials from the law enforcement system of his death.

A criminal case into Magnitsky’s death has been opened on charges of failure to provide aid to a patient and negligence (Articles 124 and 293 of the Russian Criminal Code). займ на карту микрозаймы онлайн zp-pdl.com www.zp-pdl.com buy viagra online