European Human Rights Commissioner Criticizes Russia’s ‘Atmosphere Of Impunity’
To mark the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, RFE/RL Russian Service correspondent Danila Galperovich spoke with Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg about that case, as well as about other high-profile murder investigations and key human rights issues in Russia.
RFE/RL: We are now speaking on a very sad occasion — the fifth anniversary of the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. What must the Russian authorities do so that Europe will say that Russia is trying to identify and prosecute those who are responsible?
Thomas Hammarberg: The most important thing is to clarify the case totally so that those who are responsible are brought to justice and punished. And that would include everyone who was involved — not only the killer himself, but also those who guided the killer, those who financed the killing, those who ordered the killing. Everyone involved, not least those who have the political or moral responsibility behind the decision that she should be killed.
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The Age of Impunity: Russia After Communism and Under Putin
Alexander Solzhenitsyn made this prediction just prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the revival of Russian autocracy in the last decade has sadly demonstrated the prescience of Solzhenitsyn’s prophecy.
This is not to say that the Russia of 2011 was fated to endure the “sovereign democracy” of Vladimir Putin, as is all too-often suggested. As the country prepares for its next round of pantomimed elections, it is important to reflect upon the developments and decisions which led the country to its current state.
Indeed, a closer inspection reveals a country which is reaping the consequences of poor decisions made in the panicked days of the first post-Soviet decade. Seven decades of totalitarianism left the country with a devastated economy, atomised society and perverse political culture. The political developments of the twenty years following the collapse of the Soviet Union bear significant implications for Russia’s future political development, and important lessons for transitioning societies around the globe.
This report provides an overview of the key developments of post-Soviet Russia which contributed to the current status quo, including the formative decisions of the Yeltsin era; the origins and reasons for the success of “Putinism;” the merger of oligarchic and state interests under Putin; the decline in political freedom; Putin’s economic policy and foreign policy.
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Rights activist wants investigator Dmitriyeva suspected of bribery to be questioned under Magnitsky case
Russian Interior Ministry investigator Nelly Dmitriyeva, who has been detained on suspicion of accepting a major bribe, should be questioned under an inquiry into Hermitage Capital auditor Sergei Magnitsky’s death, says Moscow Helsinki Group member Valery Borshchyov.
“I would like everyone included in the Cardin list and having relation to the Magnitsky case to be thoroughly questioned by the Investigative Committee, which is paying too little attention to these people today,” Borshchyov, who is participating in an independent public investigation into the Magnitsky case, told Interfax on Wednesday.
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Russian rights veteran doubts Politkovskaya murder mastermind will be found
Interfax
The head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Lyudmila Alekseyeva, doubts that the real commissioner of the murder of Novaya Gazeta [newspaper] observer Anna Politkovskaya will be established.
“There are some very positive assessments of investigators’ actions coming from Novaya Gazeta and Politkovskaya’s son, Ilya. They are happy about something. But I have serious doubts that the real commissioner [of the murder] will be ascertained,” Alekseyeva told the Interfax news agency on Thursday [6 October].
She said that “one of the links in power-wielding structures” may be involved in the murder.
“Their principle is not to give up their own. Working closely on the case of Sergey Magnitskiy [Hermitage Capital lawyer, who died in pre-trial detention], I have come to see how solidly this logic works, how they resist absolutely obvious things. They do not give up their own,” Alekseyeva said.
Anna Politkovskaya was killed in Moscow on 7 October 2006. онлайн займ unshaven girl https://zp-pdl.com/apply-for-payday-loan-online.php https://zp-pdl.com/online-payday-loans-in-america.php займы на карту без отказа
Ex-Cleary, Yukos Lawyer’s Death in Russia Called ‘Murder’ by Kremlin Critics
Vasily Aleksanyan, a one-time Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton attorney and former head of the legal department for embattled Russian oil giant Yukos, died this week at 39 from AIDS-related complications, according to Russian publication Pravda.
But Aleksanyan’s backers claim the true cause of death was even more insidious. Indeed, according to a report by the Financial Times, the former Cleary lawyer’s backers say he is essentially a victim of state-sanctioned murder as a result of the many years he spent incarcerated as a result of his Yukos ties.
A graduate of Harvard Law School, Aleksanyan worked at Cleary from 1992 until 1994. He spent the next two years as the top Russian in-house lawyer for British investment firm Sun Group, which invests in emerging markets.
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Dutch MPs want tougher stance against Russia
A majority of Dutch MPs are calling on the government to take measures to punish Russia for alleged human rights abuses in the case of the death in prison in 2009 of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. The case was highlighted earlier by Radio Netherlands Worldwide and interviews recorded by RNW have been used by UN investigators examing corruption in Russia.
The failure of punish those involved in the lawyer’s death, is causing concern among many Dutch MPs who this week again demanded action.
US businessman William Browder made a personal appeal to Dutch MPs to pressure the Dutch government to do the same. Sergei Magnitsky was working for Mr Browder’s Hermitage Fund when he was arrested in 2009.
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Magnitsky Investigator Arrested on Bribery Charges
A police investigator implicated in the prosecution of Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky has been charged with extorting a $3 million bribe, officials said Wednesday.
Nelli Dmitriyeva, a senior investigator with the Interior Ministry’s Moscow branch, is suspected of extorting the bribe while holding an inquiry into contraband medical equipment, the Investigative Committee said in a statement. Her arrest was sanctioned by a Moscow court on Wednesday.
Dmitriyeva is one of 60 officials linked to the 2009 death of Magnitsky, 37, who died in detention after being beaten badly by guards and being refused treatment for existing health problems. Dozens of the officials have been banned from entering the United States. It was unclear whether Dmitriyeva is among them.
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“Magnitsky list” investigator detained on 3m-dollar bribe suspicions
Interfax
A special investigator of the main investigations directorate of the Moscow Main Interior Directorate, Nelli Dmitriyeva, has been detained on bribery suspicions, the Interfax news agency reported on 5 October, quoting official Investigations Committee spokesperson Vladimir Markin.
“According to investigators, in the course of investigating a case on contraband, N. Dmitriyeva sought a 3m-dollar bribe from the suspects in order to have them released from criminal liability,” Markin said.
Markin said that Dmitriyeva acted through accomplices in obtaining the bribe. “On 23 August, a mediator [for Dmitriyeva] received 50,000 euros and 1,000 dollars from one of the suspects, as well as dummy bills imitating euros and dollars, of almost R50m [over 1.5m dollars] in value,” Markin said.
In a later report, Interfax quoted an unnamed law-enforcement source as saying that the amount in question actually stood at 5m dollars. According to the source, this amount was being extorted from “an entrepreneur who was a witness in the case related to supplies of tomographic equipment for hospitals of the Republic of Karelia”. In the same report, Interfax said that Dmitriyeva was on the so-called “Magnitskiy list”, for involvement in the case of Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergey Magnitskiy, who died in pre-trial detention.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, popular anti-corruption blogger Aleksey Navalnyy wrote in his LiveJournal blog that Dmitriyeva was detained at around 1600 (1200 gmt) on 4 October and questioned why this had not been reported in the mainstream media as at 0400 gmt on 5 October. займы на карту срочно займ срочно без отказов и проверок female wrestling https://zp-pdl.com/apply-for-payday-loan-online.php https://zp-pdl.com/best-payday-loans.php микрозаймы онлайн
UK Bans 60 Officials Over Magnitsky Death
Are secret blacklists becoming a way to keep people out of a country?
The U.K. secretly banned 60 people implicated in the death of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer for Hermitage Capital Management who died while in Russian custody in 2009 after alleging that senior police officials had defrauded the investment firm. Those same police officials arrested him for the crimes he accused them of committing.
Magnitsky has been hailed by activists as a martyr, and justice for his death has been a cause of William Browder, head of Hermitage, which was once the biggest portfolio investor in Russia. The U.K. move follows a similar visa ban imposed by the U.S. in July.
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To learn more about what happened to Sergei Magnitsky please read below
- Sergei Magnitsky
- Why was Sergei Magnitsky arrested?
- Sergei Magnitsky’s torture and death in prison
- President’s investigation sabotaged and going nowhere
- The corrupt officers attempt to arrest 8 lawyers
- Past crimes committed by the same corrupt officers
- Petitions requesting a real investigation into Magnitsky's death
- Worldwide reaction, calls to punish those responsible for corruption and murder
- Complaints against Lt.Col. Kuznetsov
- Complaints against Major Karpov
- Cover up
- Press about Magnitsky
- Bloggers about Magnitsky
- Corrupt officers:
- Sign petition
- Citizen investigator
- Join Justice for Magnitsky group on Facebook
- Contact us
- Sergei Magnitsky
