Stop the Untouchables. Justice for Sergei Magnitsky.

Russia to try dead whistleblower on March 11

Reuters

A Russian court will start the posthumous trial of a dead anti-corruption lawyer next week after ignoring calls by his family and lawyers to abandon a case they say is absurd and politically motivated.

Sergei Magnitsky’s death in custody in 2009, after he had complained repeatedly of being denied medical treatment, has damaged Russia’s image and strained ties with the United States.

But Moscow’s Tverskoy Court said after a pre-trial hearing on Monday that the trial itself would open on March 11, a court spokeswoman said.

Lawyers say Magnitsky, who was 37 and was accused of tax fraud after investigating similar claims against his accusers, will be the first dead person to go on trial in Russia.

“The trial is indeed absurd,” said lawyer Alexander Molokhov after the court rejected his application to defend Magnitsky.

The court had already appointed a legal team to defend Magnitsky after his own lawyers refused to take part in a trial which his relatives say is politically motivated.