Fight For Justice Continues For Murdered Russian Lawyer

The Global Enquirer

Sergei Magnitsky was a Russian lawyer investigating state corruption when he was imprisoned on fabricated charges by the ‘gangster regime’ of Vladimir Putin. Magnitsky suffered torturous treatment while in the custody of the Russian government who were attempting to force him into signing a false confession.

After 358 days of pre-trial incarceration, he died from a beating by prison guards on November 16, 2009, at the age of 37.

Since then his former employer, William Browder, has been on a mission to reveal to the world the truth about the imprisonment and death of Magnitsky and bring to justice those responsible for his murder. The quest has brought to light the deeply corrupt state of Russian politics and its ties with organised crime.

Browder is a co-founder of Hermitage Capital Management, a London-based investment firm which began trading in the Russian stock market during the 1990’s. Browder moved to Moscow during this time and was at first an advocate for Putin and his efforts to seemingly curb the plundering influence of oligarchs in the country.

However, Browder soon became aware that the Russian government under Putin was actually building its own criminal enterprise and merely channelling the former wealth of oligarchs into the private bank accounts of high-ranking officials.

Browder was publicly vocal in criticising these practices and began investigating the corrupt management of firms such as Gazprom, a state-controlled gas giant, and Surgutneftegaz, a secretive oil producer.

This quickly earned the ire of the Kremlin who launched a ruthless vendetta against Browder and Hermitage Capital.

On November 13, 2005, when returning to Russia after a trip to London, Browder was detained for 15 hours, declared a ‘threat to national security’ and deported back to the United Kingdom.

Banned from the country, there was little he could do when 18 months later on June 4, 2007, officials from the Russian Interior Ministry raided the Moscow offices of Hermitage Capital and seized corporate documents which were then used to illicitly transfer ownership of companies belonging to the investment firm.

During this time Sergei Magnitsky was acting as chief lawyer for Hermitage Capital and leading investigations into the political vendetta against the company.

Magnitsky uncovered a complicated scheme whereby a tax bill of 230 million dollars paid by Hermitage Capital had been diverted into private accounts by perpetrators in the Russian government.

Despite reporting this criminal activity to every law enforcement agency in Russia, no action was taken and the Russian government instead filed criminal charges against the lawyers working for Hermitage Capital.

Browder promptly arranged for his lawyers to leave the country but Magnitsky refused, determined to unveil the truth behind the government scam.

Magnitsky bravely went to court to testify against police officers, judges, tax officials and organised criminals involved in the fraud. But there was to be no justice afforded in this case.

The Russian government continued to close ranks and arrested Magnitsky on November 24, 2008, on the false accusation that he was a conspirator in the case. He was imprisoned and thrown into an over-crowded cell infested with rats and disease.

During his incarceration Magnitsky documented the ordeal in a diary and filed 450 complaints detailing his mistreatment. Despite the appalling conditions he would not retract his principled stand and refused to sign a false testimony.

After 6 months his health began to deteriorate severely and he was diagnosed with pancreatitis and gallstones, requiring an operation which was scheduled for August 1, 2009. However, one week before the scheduled operation he was abruptly transferred to the maximum security prison at Butyrka.

Here he was refused vital medical treatment even though he was in constant and agonising pain. Repeated pleas for treatment were ignored with authorities telling Magnitsky that unless he made a false confession he would not receive any medical attention.

Despite the increasing physical and psychological suffering, Magnitsky remained resolute and one month before his death, on October 14, 2009, he gave another testimony implicating his torturers and those involved in the multi-million dollar tax fraud.

On November 16, Magnitsky was transferred to another prison and taken to an isolation cell where he was handcuffed and beaten to death with batons by 8 guards.

Even though the case was by then quite public, the Russian government refused to take responsibility and investigate the corrupt influences behind the vendetta which had led to the brutal murder of Sergei Magnitsky.

Shocked by this grand cover-up of criminality, William Browder has been damning in his assessment of the current regime and its toxic mentality which feeds the suppression of any cry for justice.

“This is a regime where a man’s life means nothing,” he says. “Where officials and criminals are allowed to work together to steal from their own people and those who expose them are repressed and killed.”

“We don’t know if President Putin was a direct beneficiary in the 230 million dollar theft or had an involvement in Sergei’s torture and murder, but he is ultimately responsible for the cover-up that ensued.”

Even though his own safety is at risk for defying the Kremlin, Browder continues to raise global awareness for the injustice that befell Magnitsky and is actively lobbying foreign governments to impose visa sanctions and asset freezes on the guilty parties within the Russian government.

“Many people ask me why I continue to insist on justice now I have received threats to my own life. The answer is because I have a duty to Sergei,” he says. “Most people, if faced with a far lesser hardship than Sergei in custody, would have given in.”

“Sergei was an ordinary man who became an extraordinary hero. If we all could show a fraction of his bravery and fortitude, the world would be a much better place.” payday loan быстрые займы онлайн www.zp-pdl.com https://zp-pdl.com/emergency-payday-loans.php займ на карту