Stop the Untouchables. Justice for Sergei Magnitsky.

U.S. Congressmen Propose Sanctions In Lawyer’s Death

The New York Times

Members of the United States Congress introduced legislation on Wednesday that would impose financial sanctions and visa bans on Russian officials implicated in the case of Sergei L. Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died in prison in Moscow in November after being ensnared in tax inquiry. The measure’s sponsors — including Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, and Representative Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat — said it was intended to spur the Russian government to properly investigate Mr. Magnitsky’s death. His defenders contend that he was jailed in an effort to force him to falsify testimony against Hermitage Capital Management, a major foreign investment fund that once had large holdings in Russia. His death caused widespread outrage and focused renewed attention on police tactics and corruption in Russia. buy over the counter medicines займы на карту срочно https://zp-pdl.com/online-payday-loans-cash-advances.php https://zp-pdl.com/best-payday-loans.php payday loan

Opening a second front

The Economist

The death in prison of Sergei Magnitsky, a young Russian lawyer, remains one of the darkest scandals in the blotchy history of Russia’s criminal justice system, exemplifying a culture of impunity in which power and wealth are fungible, and those who get in the way get squashed. Mr Magnitsky died of untreated pancreatis in pre-trial detention. He hadaccused Russian officials of stealing millions of tax dollars paid by his client, Hermitage Capital Management.

Energetic lobbying by the head of Hermitage, the American-born financier Bill Browder, now seems to be getting somewhere. Two senior American lawmakers, Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (a Democrat from Maryland), who is Chairman of the congressional Helsinki Commission and James P. McGovern (a Democratic congressman from Massachussetts), who chairs the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, have introduced laws that would prohibit some 60-odd Russian officials linked to his death from visiting the United States, and freeze any assets they hold under American jurisdiction. (The Russian officials concerned have either made no public comment, or deny all wrongdoing).

Russian officials with alleged link to lawyer’s death face US ban

The Guardian, by Elena Moya

Russian officials and other individuals allegedly involved in the death of a London hedge fund’s lawyer in Moscow face being banned from entering the US and conducting financial dealings there.

Two congressmen today introduced the Justice for Sergei Magnitsky bill, named after Hermitage Capital’s 37-year-old lawyer, who died last year in a Russian jail without access to medical help when he was seriously ill.

Magnitsky had been imprisoned two years ago by Russian officials following an alleged $230m (£143m) tax fraud involving Hermitage Capital. The fund’s millionaire founder Bill Browder claims Russian government and police officials were behind the death of his former employee in prison.

US lawmakers target Russians in lawyer’s death

Agence France Presse

Two US lawmakers unveiled legislation on Wednesday that would impose a visa ban and asset freeze on any Russian officials tied to the death of a lawyer who perished in prison last year.

Sergei Magnitsky, a 37-year-old lawyer working for investment fund Hermitage Capital Management, died in Moscow’s notorious Matrosskayha Tishina prison hospital in November 2009 while awaiting trial for tax fraud.

William Hague calls for ‘thorough’ investigation of Sergei Magnitsky’s death

Daily Telegraph

In an exchange of letters with David Davis, the Conservative MP and former Home Secretary, Mr Hague welcomed Russia’s decision to investigate the lawyer’s death, but added: “It is important that this investigation should be thorough and transparent if it is to address both human rights concerns and the effect of this case on investor confidence.”

Mr Magnitsky, who worked for London-based hedge fund Hermitage Capital Management, died in a Russian jail while awaiting trial for tax fraud charges brought by police officers he claimed were involved in a $230m (£145m) tax fraud. Mr Magnitsky denied the charges.

People responsible for Magnitsky’s death should be punished – rights activist

Interfax

Human rights activists are hoping that the U.S. and the European Union will deny entry to the Russian officials involved in the death of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer for the Hermitage Capital Group, who died in a Moscow detention facility.

“We are actively promoting this idea. If the Russian authorities do not want to punish these people, other countries should set an example,” Lyudmila Alekseyeva, the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, told Interfax on Monday.

Combating Corruption in Russia

Reject Apathy, by Kristen Blalock

Imagine witnessing something horrifying: a beating, a kidnapping, large-scale theft or even a murder. Not only did you witness this, but the perpetrator left behind irrefutable evidence. Now imagine the perpetrator is a policeman and you are in Russia, and this nightmare just became reality.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has made amazing strides to overcome its murky past. Emerging from a history of purges, famine, and persecution, the nation is still struggling to find a solid grasp on how to balance power with civil rights. Unfortunately this struggle is being waged within Russia’s police and security forces in the form of widespread corruption. So what is Russia to do when those who are meant to protect are the same ones guilty of the crimes? More importantly, what does it say about a society when those in a position of power are so willing to openly break the law?