Dead lawyer’s supporters fume after Silchenko is exonerated by prosecutors

The Moscow News

Oleg Silchenko, the man who activists and western politicians accuse of bringing about Sergei Magnitsky’s death, has been cleared by the Prosecutor General’s office.

Vladimir Markin, Investigative Committee spokesman, said Lt.Col. Silchenko had not violated any federal laws in “pressing criminal charges and arresting” Magtnitsky, or in extending his custody as trial approached, RIA Novosti reported.

Magnistky died in detention awaiting trial for the same embezzlement charges he was accusing government officials of. He died aged 37 after being denied medical treatment for pancreatitis.

Actions speak louder than words

Friends and colleagues of Magnitsky are livid about the finding.

“This is no more than another link in the chain of concealment from responsibility for those officials who took part in torture, an internationally prosecutable offence against the rights, liberty and life of citizens, which violates the international obligations of Russia to investigate these crimes,” said an emailed statement from Hermitage Capital, the firm where Magnitsky was working when he was arrested.

“The actions of the Investigative Committee clearly show that no genuine investigation into the death of Magnistsky has taken place, and that those who have a direct interest in the case’s outcome are taking part in the investigation, a clear breach of established norms,” the statement said.

Silchenko did no wrong

While US congressmen consider sanctions against Russian officials, including Silchenko, implicated in the Magnitsky scandal, the official Russian line is that not only Silchenko is innocent but that that America has overstepped its mark.

The Investigative Committee announced on its website on Monday that it had received a letter from the Prosecutor General which found that “no violations … had been committed” by Silchenko over the course of the Magnitsky investigation.

Presidential backing

President Medvedev has said that the results of the investigation into the death of Magnitsky will be made public in the near future. He says that Russia will back any investigation that is within the law and that “all persons involved in the crime, both in Russia and abroad, must be identified,” RIA Novosti reported. buy viagra online hairy woman www.zp-pdl.com https://zp-pdl.com/best-payday-loans.php payday loan