Russian party leader, rights activist doubt Magnitskiy case will be investigated

BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union

The discontinuation of criminal proceedings against Butyrskiy remand centre doctor Larisa Litvinova in the case of the death of Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergey Magnitskiy is unacceptable, Russian opposition party Yabloko leader Sergey Mitrokhin has said, as reported by the Russian news agency Interfax on 9 April.

Mitrokhin said: “This is unacceptable not only because this is a loud case but also because this is the government’s crime against a citizen. If such cases are closed so easily, then this means that criminals are simply being shielded.”

Mitrokhin added: “Objective justice does not exist in our country. If interests of large officials are involved, then the justice system works for them and this case, most likely, will not be investigated and none of the guilty will go to jail since officials are involved in it.”

Meanwhile, a member of the presidential human rights council and head of the National Anti-Corruption Committee Kirill Kabanov said that the Magnitskiy investigation was being wrapped up and that certain people were hoping to close the case when Putin takes the presidency.

Kabanov, as reported by Gazprom-owned, editorially independent Russian news agency Ekho Moskvy later on the same day, said: “I believe that today the law enforcement bureaucracy hopes that, the president-elect [Vladimir Putin] is more loyal to it than, mildly speaking, Dmitriy Anatolyevich [Medvedev], therefore, they are taking steps to round off and close all of this (the Magnitskiy case).”

Kabanov went on to say that “the law enforcement bureaucracy is even stronger than the civilian president” and that it dictated its terms to the president in a certain sense. “It does not betray its own people and does not intend to do so, since this is the principle of existence today,” Kabanov said.

Kabanov, as further reported by Interfax, added: “Actually the heat is most likely being taken off the people who were involved in the Magnitskiy case, including those from law enforcement bodies and the secret service.”

He continued: “I think that people are counting on Putin’s lack of interest in the Magnitskiy case when he takes the presidency and that it will be possible to convince him that law enforcers are right.”

Kabanov said: “We can practically see that the investigation is being wrapped up.”

He added: “Regretfully, the hope that the Magnitskiy case will be investigated is decreasing.”

In turn, Nikolay Gorokhov, the lawyer of Magnitskiy’s mother said that he will submit an appeal to resume the investigation, Interfax reported later on the same day.

“I have familiarized myself with the materials of the criminal case and I am preparing an appeal, in particular, an appeal on resuming the investigation,” Gorokhov said. займ на карту срочно без отказа срочный займ на карту https://zp-pdl.com/apply-for-payday-loan-online.php https://zp-pdl.com/how-to-get-fast-payday-loan-online.php займы на карту