Stop the Untouchables. Justice for Sergei Magnitsky.

IBAHRI expresses concern over the posthumous trial of Sergei Magnitsky, Russia

IBAHRI

The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) expresses concern over the posthumous reopening of criminal proceedings against Sergei Magnitsky, raising several procedural issues. The most salient issues identified by the IBAHRI include:

– The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation decision of 14 July 2011 does not give law enforcement agencies a basis to pursue or revive charges against a deceased person;

– The rights to choose counsel, prepare a defence case, and be present at one’s trial are enshrined in Article 14(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The rights to defence and to a fair trial cannot be exercised by a deceased accused person;

– The entitlement to a fair and public hearing, enshrined in Article 14(1) of the ICCPR, provides that there must be a strong and clear justification for excluding the public and media from the trial proceedings. This expectation is all the stronger in these extraordinary circumstances. The failure to conduct an open process reasonably leads to adverse inferences; and

– Russian courts were made aware of the manner in which Magnitsky was investigated, and the conditions of his detention, in great detail by Magnitsky himself while he was still alive, with no apparent effect.