Stop the Untouchables. Justice for Sergei Magnitsky.

Russia drops charges in lawyer’s prison death

Associated Press

Russia’s top investigative body said Monday it has dropped charges against a doctor suspected of negligence in the case of a prominent lawyer who reported official corruption in Russia, then died in custody while suffering from untreated pancreatitis.

The lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, had accused Interior Ministry officials of using false tax documents to steal $230 million from the state. He was imprisoned for tax evasion in 2008 and died in custody in November 2009.

A private investigation concluded Magnitsky was severely beaten and denied medical treatment in prison, and it accused the government of failing to prosecute those responsible.

Magnitsky worked for Hermitage Capital, an investment fund owned and run by U.S.-born William Browder, who has since been barred from Russia as a security risk.

On Monday, Russia’s Investigative Committee dropped the negligence charge against Dr. Larisa Litvinova, citing a two-year statute of limitations in such probes.

Hermitage Capital sharply criticized the decision, calling it “the latest example of the reluctance within the Russian government to hold anyone accountable” for Magnitsky’s death.

“In dropping charges against Ms. Litvinova, the Russian investigators have refused to acknowledge that Sergei Magnitsky had been tortured in custody, a crime that has a 10-year statute of limitations,” the investment fund said in a statement.