Sergei Magnitsky

Sergei Magnitsky
Sergei Magnitsky
Born Sergei Leonidovich Magnitsky
April 8, 1972(1972-04-08)
U.S.S.R. Soviet Union
Died April 10, 2009(2009-04-10)
Occupation Auditor

Sergei Leonidovich Magnitsky (Russian: Сергей Леонидович Магнитский; 8 April 1972 – 16 November 2009) was a Russian attorney whose death in police custody generated international media attention and launched an investigation into allegations of abuse.[1] Magnitsky, who had alleged wide-scale tax fraud sanctioned by officials before being himself arrested, died days before the one year limit that he could be held without trial would expire.[2] In total, Magnitsky served 358 days in prison.[3] In December 2010, British human rights organization Redress filed a 100-page report to United Nations special rapporteurs on human rights.[4] The Economist calls Magnitsky's torture and killing "gruesome."[5] His case has become an international cause célèbre.[6]

Contents

Background

Magnitsky was a Firestone Duncan attorney representing a UK-based investment advisory firm Hermitage Capital Management on trumped-up (as Western press claims) charges of tax evasion and tax fraud.[7] He was a specialist in civil law.

Over the years of its operation, Hermitage had supplied information to the press on a number of occasions related to corporate and governmental misconduct in alleged corruption within state-owned Russian enterprises.[8] Company co-founder Bill Browder was soon expelled from Russia as a national threat, though Browder himself has indicated that he represented only a threat "to corrupt politicians and bureaucrats", believing that the ouster was conducted to leave his company open for exploitation.[1] In November 2005, Browder arrived in Moscow to be told his visa had been annulled. He was deported the next day and has not seen his Moscow home for 10 years.[6]

In June 4, 2007, Hermitage's office was raided by the police. The offices of Firestone Duncan, Hermitage's law firm, were also raided. In both cases, tax documents were stolen.[9] In October 2007, Browder received word that one of the firms maintained in Moscow had a judgement against it for an alleged unpaid debt. This was the first Browder had heard of it, according to him.[6]

Exposing of Scandal

In his investigations into the charges against Hermitage, Firestone Duncan attorney, Magnitsky came to believe that tax fraud had been perpetuated, but not by Hermitage: evidence he discovered suggested a group of conspirators had stolen the seals and documents of Hermitage and used them to fraudulently reclaim $230m (£140m) of Hermitage's taxes.[2][10] Magnitsky's testimony implicated police, the judiciary, tax officials, bankers and the Russian mafia.[2] In spite of the initial dismissal of his claims, Magnitsky's core allegation that Hermitage had not committed fraud but had been victimized by it would eventually be validated when a sawmill foreman pled guilty in the matter to "fraud by prior collusion", though the foreman would maintain that police were not part of the plan.[10] Before then, however, Magnitsky had himself been brought under investigation by one of the policemen he had testified was behind the fraud. According to Browder, Sergei was "the 'go to guy' in Moscow on courts, taxes, fines, anything to do with civil law."[6]

According to Magnitsky's investigation, the documents that had been stolen in June 2007 were used to forge a change in ownership.[6] The thieves then used forged contracts to claim Hermitage owed $1 billion to shell companies. Unbeknownst to Hermitage, those claims were later authenticated by judges. In every instance, lawyers unknown to Hermitage pled guilty on the organizations behalf.[6]

The new owner, based in Tatarstan, turned out to be Viktor Markelov, a convicted murderer released only two years into his sentence.[6] The company's fake debt was then used to claim a tax break of $230 million, issued Christmas Eve of 2008. It became the largest tax rebate in Russian history.[6] Hermitage contacted the Russian government with the investigation's findings. The money, which was not Hermitage's, belonged to the Russian people. Rather than Magnitsky, the Russian authorities opened a criminal case against Hermitage.[6]

Illness and death

Magnitsky was arrested and imprisoned at the Butyrka prison in Moscow in November 2008 after being accused of colluding with Hermitage.[2] Held for 11 months without trial,[2] he was, as reported by The Telegraph, "denied visits from his family" and "forced into increasingly squalid cells."[10] He developed gall stones, pancreatitis and calculous cholecystitis, for which he was given inadequate medical treatment during his incarceration.[2] Surgery was ordered in June, but never performed; detention center chief Ivan P. Prokopenko later indicated that he "...did not consider Magnitsky sick...Prisoners often try to pass themselves off as sick, in order to get better conditions."[11]

On November 16, eight days before he would have had to have been released if he were not brought to trial, Magnitsky died for reasons attributed first by prison officials as a "rupture to the abdominal membrane" and later to heart attack.[2] It later emerged that Magnitsky had complained of worsening stomach pain for five days prior to his death and that by the 15th was vomiting every three hours, with a visibly swollen stomach.[11] On the day of his death, the prison physician, believing he had a chronic disease, sent him by ambulance to a medical unit equipped to help him, but the surgeon there — who described Magnitsky as "agitated, trying to hide behind a bag and saying people were trying to kill him" — prescribed only a painkiller, leaving him for psychiatric evaluation.[11] He was found dead in his cell a little over two hours later.

Journalist Owen Matthews described his suffering in Moscow's notorious prison, Butyrka.

According to [Magnitsky's] heartbreaking prison diary, investigators repeatedly tried to persuade him to give testimony against Hermitage and drop the accusations against the police and tax authorities. When Magnitsky refused, he was moved to more and more horrible sections of the prison, and ultimately denied the medical treatment which could have saved his life.[12]

Aftermath

According to Russian news agency RIA Novosti, Magnitsky's death "caused public outrage and sparked discussion of the need to improve prison healthcare and to reduce the number of inmates awaiting trial in detention prisons."[13]

An independent investigatory body, the Moscow Public Oversight Commission, indicated in December 2009 that "psychological and physical pressure was exerted upon" Magnitsky.[14] One of the Commissioners said that while she had first believed his death was due to medical negligence, she had developed "the frightening feeling that it was not negligence but that it was, to some extent, as terrible as it is to say, a premeditated murder."[11]

An official investigation was ordered in November 2009 by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.[15] Russian authorities had not concluded their own investigation as of December 2009, but 20 senior prison officials had already been fired as a result of the case.[14] In December 2009, in two separate decrees, Medvedev fired deputy head of the Federal Penitentiary Service Alexander Piskunov and signed a law forbidding the jailing of individuals who are suspected of tax crimes.[16] Magnitsky's death is also believed to be linked to the firing of Major-General Anatoli Mikhalkin, formerly the head of the Moscow division of the tax crimes department of the Interior Ministry.[17] Mikhalkin was among those accused by Magnitsky of taking part in fraud.

Opalesque.TV released a video on February 8, 2010, in which Hermitage Capital Management founder Bill Browder revealed details of Sergey Magnitzky's ordeal during his eleven months in detention,[18] while the Russian Untouchables group prepared a film Russian Untouchables. Episode 1: Artem Kuznetsov about his prosecutors.[19] On 25 June 2010 radio-station Echo of Moscow announced that Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs Department for Own Security started investigations against Lieutenant Colonel Artyom Kuznetsov, who has been accused of improper imprisonment of Magnitsky. The investigation was in response to appeal by the Hermitage Capital Management and United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.[20] In February 2011, the investigation, which had not yet identified any suspects, was extended to May.[21]

In November 2010, Magnitsky was given a posthumous award from Transparency International award for integrity. Magnitsky, according to the wards committee, "believed in the rule of law and died for his belief."[6] A film produced to highlight Magnitsky's persecution has been shown before in Canadian, German, Estonian, Polish, British, and European parliaments and the American congress.[6] Hermitage's CEO, Bill Browder, created the film to help persuade foreign governments to issue a visa ban on sixty individuals believed to be involved in the scandal and cover up.[6]

In July 2011, Russia’s Investigate Committee for the first time acknowledged that Mr. Magnitsky died because prison authorities restricted medical care for him. [22] Russian authorities also opened criminal cases against the two doctors who treated him, Dr. Larisa Litvinova who managed his treatment towards the end and Dr. Dmitri Kratov who was the chief medical officer at Butyrskaya Prison. Dr. Kratov was demoted soon after Mr. Magnitsky’s death. Dr. Litvinova can get up to three years of prison, if convicted of causing death through professional negligence; while Dr. Kratov was charged with involuntary manslaughter from negligence and is facing five years in prison. [23] An independent prison watchdog commission reported that prison doctors were pressured by investigators to deny treatment, and Dr. Litvinova disclosed to the Public Oversight Commission that she was trying to get approval for Mr. Magnitsky’s treatment. However, investigators looking into the death of Mr. Magnitsky cleared Oleg F. Silchenko, who oversaw the investigation of Mr. Magnitsky, of any wrongdoing.

Increasing international tension

In late 2010, international attention to the matter intensified, with the European Parliament calling for 60 officials believed to be connected to Magnitsky's death to be banned from entering the European Union and the Parliament of Canada resolving to deny visas to and freeze the Canadian assets of allegedly involved officials.[24] The EU Parliament has also urged members to freeze assets of officials, while similar measures are under consideration in the United States.[25][26] There, in October 2010, Senator John S. McCain co-sponsored the Justice for Sergei Magnitsky Act, which would forbid entry to the U.S. to 60 individuals named in court documents related to the Magnitsky case. McCain says the law will help to "identify those responsible for the death of this Russian patriot, to make their names famous for the whole world to know, and then to hold them accountable for their crimes."[27] The law is considered analogous to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 in the precedent it hopes to create.[28] In July 2011, the U.S. revealed that dozens of Russian officials were barred from entering the U.S. for their possible involvement in the detention of Mr. Magnitsky. [29]

The Russian Foreign Ministry described the Canadian resolution as "an attempt to pressure the investigators and interfere in the internal affairs of another state",[30] while in a November statement the head of the lower house's international committee Konstantin Kosachyov criticized the European Parliament's conclusions, indicating that sanctions violated the "presumption of innocence" principle and should wait the resolution of the Russian court.[31] Bloomberg reported in December that, according to an Interfax story, "identical measures" would be taken by Russia if a European Union ban was effected.[26] In mid-December, the European Parliament passed the resolution allowing the officials to be banned by member states and their assets to be seized.[32]

In January 2011, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan E. Méndez, opened an investigation into Magnitsky's treatment and death.[33]

References

  1. ^ a b "Russia 'is now a criminal state', says Bill Browder". BBC. November 23, 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8372894.stm. Retrieved December 27, 2009. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Aldrick, Philip (November 19, 2009). "Russia refuses autopsy for anti-corruption lawyer". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/6608505/Russia-refuses-autopsy-for-anti-corruption-lawyer.html. Retrieved December 27, 2009. 
  3. ^ Kathy Lally (January 20, 2011). "UN-appointed Human Rights Experts to Probe Death of Russian Lawyer Magnitsky". The Washington. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/20/AR2011012003237.html?nav=emailpage. Retrieved 27 February 2011. 
  4. ^ http://www.redress.org/Sergei_Magnitsky_Allegation_Letter_UN_SR_Torture_Independence%20of%20Judiciary.pdf
  5. ^ "Cops for hire; Police brutality in Russia". The Economist. March 20, 2010. 
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Dying in Agony: His Reward for Solving a $230 Million Fraud". The Sunday Times. November 14, 2010. 
  7. ^ Eke, Steven (November 18, 2009). "Row over Russian lawyer jail death". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8367143.stm. Retrieved December 27, 2009. 
  8. ^ Levy, Clifford J. (July 24, 2008). "An Investment Gets Trapped in Kremlin’s Vise". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/world/europe/24kremlin.html?hp=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2010-01-22. 
  9. ^ Margarette Driscoll (November 14, 2010). "Dying in agony: his reward for solving a $230 million fraud". The Sunday Times. 
  10. ^ a b c Aldrick, Philip (21 January 2011). "Who was Sergei Magnitsky?". The Telegraph. 
  11. ^ a b c d Barry, Ellen (December 28, 2009). "Scathing Report Issued on Russian Lawyer’s Death". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/29/world/europe/29russia.html. Retrieved 2010-01-23. 
  12. ^ Owen Matthews (January 9, 2010). "There's something rotten in the state of Russia". The Spectator. 
  13. ^ "RIA Novosti’s choice: the ten major political events of 2009". RIA Novosti. January 2, 2010. http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20100102/157444345.html. Retrieved 2010-01-23. 
  14. ^ a b Aldrick, Philip (28 Dec 2009). "Sergei Magnitsky: independent investigation into death of lawyer slams Russia". Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/6901221/Sergei-Magnitsky-independent-investigation-into-death-of-lawyer-slams-Russia.html. 
  15. ^ "Medvedev orders investigation of Magnitsky jail death". BBC. November 24, 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8376789.stm. Retrieved December 27, 2009. 
  16. ^ "Russia Bans Jailing of Tax Offenders Following Lawyer's Death". Wall Street Journal. December 29, 2009. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126208865155908863.html. Retrieved 2010-01-23. 
  17. ^ Mortished, Carl (December 16, 2009). "Kremlin sacking linked to Sergei Magnitsky case". The Times (London). http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article6957931.ece. Retrieved 2010-01-23. 
  18. ^ "Opalesque BACKSTAGE Video - Bill Browder: Sergey Magnitsky case reveals Russia's ugliest face". February 8, 2010. http://www.opalesque.tv/youtube/William_Browder_Bill_Browder/1. Retrieved 2010-02-08. 
  19. ^ "Russian Untouchables. Episode 1: Artem Kuznetsov". Russian Untouchables. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZB3YoAvEro. 
  20. ^ "Департамент собственной безопасности МВД проводит проверку в отношении подполковника милиции Артема Кузнецова, который отдал приказ об аресте юриста Сергея Магницкого.". Echo of Moscow. 25 June 2010. http://www.echo.msk.ru/news/690716-echo.html. 
  21. ^ "Russian Investigation into Magnitsky's Death Extended to Mid-May". RIA Novosti. 10 February 2011. http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110210/162539380.html. Retrieved 22 February 2011. 
  22. ^ Barry, Ellen (July 4, 2011). "Poor Medical Care Led to Lawyer Magnitsky's Death, Russia Admits". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/world/europe/05moscow.html. 
  23. ^ Barry, Ellen (July 18, 2011). "Prison Doctors Charged in Russian Lawyer Magnitsky's Death". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/world/europe/19russia.html. 
  24. ^ "Russia condemns Canadian sanctions over Magnitsky case". RIA Novosti. 9 December 2010. http://en.rian.ru/russia/20101209/161707682.html. Retrieved 16 December 2010. 
  25. ^ Charlton, Angela (16 December 2010). "EU backs freeze on Russian assets for prison death". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/16/AR2010121602317.html. Retrieved 16 December 2010. 
  26. ^ a b Meyer, Henry; Jonathan Stearns (16 December 2010). "EU Parliament Urges Visa Ban Over Russia Lawyer Death". Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-16/eu-parliament-urges-visa-ban-over-russia-lawyer-death-update1-.html. Retrieved 16 December 2010. 
  27. ^ Matthews, Owen (October 25, 2010). "Breaking the Law; Why Russia fetes its criminals". Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/15/russian-criminals-and-magnitsky.html. Retrieved 27 February 2011. 
  28. ^ Matthews, Owen (December 4, 2010). "Crackdown on Kleptocrats". The Spectator. 
  29. ^ Kramer, Andrew E. (July 26, 2011). "U.S. Bars Russian Officials Linked to 2009 Magnitsky Death". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/world/europe/27russia.html. 
  30. ^ Lally, Kathy (15 December 2010). "Legal proceedings test whether Russia will move closer to West". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/14/AR2010121407342.html. Retrieved 16 December 2010. 
  31. ^ "Russian lawmaker lambastes European Parliament". RIA Novosta. 23 November 2010. http://en.rian.ru/world/20101123/161467604.html. Retrieved 16 December 2010. 
  32. ^ Osborn, Andrew (16 December 2010). "Sergei MagnitskyL European Parliament Recommends Tough Sanctions on Russian Officials". The Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/globalbusiness/8207690/Sergei-Magnitsky-European-Parliament-recommends-tough-sanctions-on-Russian-officials.html. Retrieved 22 February 2011. 
  33. ^ Aldrick, Philip (21 January 2011). "UN Opens Investigation into Magnitsky's Torture Claims". The Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/8272605/UN-opens-investigation-into-Magnitsky-torture-claims.html. Retrieved 22 February 2011. 

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