Posts Tagged ‘magnitksy’
Statement by President of the European Parliament on the first anniversary of the death of Sergei Magnitsky
16 November 2010, Brussels – European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek made the following statement to mark the first anniversary of the death of Sergey Magnitsky on 16 November 2009.
“We mark tomorrow yet another unfortunate death of a young man fighting for justice. Sergey Magnitsky was a brave man, who in his fight against corruption was unjustifiably imprisoned under ruthless conditions and then died in jail without receiving appropriate medical care. This is a shocking example showing that people fighting against corruption in Russia can feel neither safe nor protected. It is a paradox, because the lawyer Sergey Magnitsky believed very strongly in justice.
His death highlighted the serious shortcomings of the prison and judicial system in Russia and the prevailing atmosphere of impunity.
I raised the case of Sergey Magnitsky’s death during my meeting with President Medvedev in June in Moscow. I also raised the unresolved murder cases of journalists Anna Politkovskaya, Natalia Estemirova and Anastasia Barburova, human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and others. We had an open discussion with President Medvedev about it and addressed in detail the worrying situation of human rights in Russia.
I urge once again the authorities of the Russian Federation at all appropriate levels to conduct a thorough, impartial and credible investigation in order to bring those involved in and responsible for the death of Sergey Magnitsky to justice. The state should also fully investigate the unresolved brutal murders of independent journalists and human rights lawyers.
The follow-up of this case is also seen by the EU as an indicator of the seriousness of the efforts to reform Russia’s judicial and prison system.
Democracy is about institutions and procedures. We need Russia to have an independent and fair judiciary: the state should protect human rights activists and support people fighting against corruption.” hairy woman payday loan www.zp-pdl.com https://zp-pdl.com/fast-and-easy-payday-loans-online.php займы на карту
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Sergei Magnitsky one year on
16 November 2010 – One year ago today, three Economist journalists sat in a Moscow restaurant discussing the prospects for the Russian economy with a smart Western banker, who argued that our coverage of Russia was far too harsh, and that business was thriving. The smart new restaurant, full of customers, seemed to support his words.
A few hours earlier, Sergei Magnitsky, a corporate lawyer representing Hermitage Capital Management, once Russia’s largest portfolio investor, died mysteriously in pre-trial detention after being repeatedly denied medical care and in effect subjected to what in most civilised countries would be considered torture. At the time, few people outside the small world of Russian investors and a few human-rights activists had heard of Mr Magnitsky. A year later, his death has become a symbol of the mind-boggling corruption and injustice perpetrated by the Russian system, and the inability (or unwillingness) of the Kremlin to change it.
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Sergei Magnitsky – a Tragic Metaphor for Russia’s Judicial, Law Enforcement and Governance Systems
Henry Jackson Society
16 November 2010 – One year ago this very day, Sergei Magnitsky passed away in what was a tragic and unjust death. And yet, the past three-hundred sixty five days have seen little in the way of justice or accountability. In fact, a vast array of questions remains unanswered – questions which are posed in the direction of the Russian state. Many believed that Russia had caught up with the 21st century; that Russia had become at least some semblance of a democracy, providing governance and security for its citizens and adhering to the rule of law. The truth, however, is that Sergei Magnitsky’s death is a tragic metaphor for Russia’s judicial, law enforcement and governance systems, systems in which justice is slowly and painfully killed by the state’s defiance of the rule of law.
The story of Sergei’s death is well documented. Sergei Magnitsky was a man who believed in the virtues of his motherland’s legal system; a lawyer who sought to uncover the largest tax fraud in Russian history committed by officials within the Russian Interior Ministry (MVD) to the tune of $230 million; and a man who was acting out of the interest of both his client and the Russian state. A month after his efforts to bring justice to light, Sergei Magnitsky was arrested by the officials he stood against and was placed in detention for over 11 months where he was forced to endure appalling conditions with no access to medical treatment. On 16 November 2009, as a result of the denial of medical care in prison, he tragically passed away.
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Magnitsky and Russia’s Opportunity Cost
16 November 2010 – November 16th marks the one-year anniversary of the murder of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was imprisoned last year in Moscow under pre-trial detention and intentionally denied medical care which led to his death. The responsibility lies with the Russian government, and specifically with individual officials who sought to cover up a $230 million tax fraud they had orchestrated using stolen documentation from Magnitsky’s client, Hermitage Capital Management.
No one has ever been held accountable for Magnitsky’s death: no charges, no arrests, no trials, and no justice, despite the mountains of evidence and even the names of the “untouchables” made public. Instead, with a familiar Russian twist, the killers were rewarded with promotions and decorations, while the victim has been blamed for the crime. Those who make a fuss over the Magnitsky incident are investigated, persecuted, and sometimes chased into exile.
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Alleged Russian corruption detailed
CBC News
16 November 2010 – A Dutch documentary about a Russian lawyer who exposed alleged fraud by government officials is set to be shown in the legislatures of Canada, Britain and the U.S. on Tuesday.
That is exactly a year after Sergei Magnitsky, a 37-year-old father of two, died in a Russian jail — tortured to death, according to his supporters.
Russia is expected to be asked to join a European missile-defence system at a meeting next weekend with the NATO countries. However, “it can’t be business as usual with Russia so long as there is this pervasive culture of corruption but, more important, this culture of impunity,” said Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, who is leading the effort in Canada,
Magnitsky was working for Hermitage Capital Management, an international investment fund that at one time was the largest portfolio investor in Russia, CEO William Browder told a parliamentary subcommittee in video testimony on Nov. 2.
Hermitage’s Russian companies were reregistered under another name after police raided its office and took away documents, he said. Magnitsky was among the lawyers hired to deal with the situation, and he found that the documents had been used to create $1 billion worth of fake liabilities for the companies.
Fake documents, lawyers, liabilities
“Those documents were then presented in a Russian court. Fake defence lawyers whom we had never hired showed up in court and pleaded guilty to $1 billion of fake liabilities. Those fake liabilities were then used by the police to go around to all of our banks to try to find all the assets that we had in Russia,” Browder said.
Hermitage had already removed its assets from Russia, but then Magnitsky found out that the fake liabilities had been used to apply for a $230-million tax refund. “On Christmas Eve of 2007, the largest refund in Russian tax history was granted with no questions asked,” Browder said.
Magnitsky testified against the police officers who raided the Hermitage office. Within a month, he was arrested and pressured to withdraw his testimony.
“After six months of sleep deprivation, freezing temperatures, unsanitary conditions, and bacteria-ridden water, Sergei became sick. He lost 48 pounds and started having severe abdominal pains,” Browder told the committee.
An operation was recommended, but denied. He died in jail.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called an investigation, but the Interior Ministry on Monday accused Magnitsky of participating in a Hermitage plan to embezzle $175 million from the government, the Moscow Times reported.
The documentary Justice for Sergei was made by Hans Hermans and Martin Maat, who founded the Dutch company ICU Documentaries. They made the film because they were “touched by the horrific ordeal of Mr. Magnitsky,” the company website said. онлайн займы payday loan https://www.zp-pdl.com https://zp-pdl.com/get-quick-online-payday-loan-now.php buy over the counter medicines
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