On the 5th Anniversary of Sergei Magnitsky’s Murder in Russian Police
Custody, Please Join Us in Watching a Two Minute Tribute Song to Sergei
on YouTube.
To commemorate the fifth anniversary of Sergei
Magnitsky’s death in Russian police custody today, please join us by
watching a short song on YouTube devoted to Sergei’s life and his
sacrifice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0dsvgBHNos&list=PLtRWoqwq_IR3XtbGTzwUcnl_ WhKKpMzvc.
Sergei Magnitsky was a 37-year old Russian anti-corruption lawyer who
uncovered a $230 million fraud perpetrated by Russian government
officials and organised criminals. After he implicated Russian police
officers in the crime, he was arrested by the very same officers,
tortured and brutally killed at Matrosskaya Tishina pre-trial detention
center in Moscow on 16 November 2009.
The Sergei Magnitsky tribute song says:
“Jailed for the words that he spoke
His name lives on
In the name of the music and the folks
Who fail to forget that rulers need
To show respect to the people they lead…
Sergei…You didn’t lose your life in vain –
Everyone on Earth will remember the name.”
The Sergei Magnitsky tribute song was written by a songwriter Samuel
Smith, and recorded as a result of a request made on www.movements.org, a
crowd-sourcing platform for human rights activists around the world. The
video directed by Alexandra Ageeva has been created by Russian civic
rights activists, including Pussy Riot, who conducted a series of
one-person protest actions around Moscow this summer.
The music video begins with an image of Russian President Vladimir Putin
at a televised press conference in December 2012, publicly denying that
Sergei Magnitsky had been tortured in pre-trial detention before his
death:
Vladimir Putin: “Mr Magnitsky perished, died, not from torture, no one
tortured him.”
The Magnitsky music video also presents images of a young Sergei
Magnitsky, and of his resting place at a Moscow cemetery.
The video concludes with a photo of Sergei on holiday with his friends
and the byline: “Russian hero.”
While the killing of Sergei Magnitsky has ignited worldwide condemnation
and lead to numerous political and legal calls for justice around the
globe, five years on there has still been no justice for Sergei Magnitsky
in Russia. Instead, he himself was posthumously prosecuted in the first
posthumous trial in the history of Russia, with the judge presiding at
the trial immediately promoted by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The
Russian authorities also last year closed the investigation into his
death finding “no sign of crime,” and refused all applications from
Sergei Magnitsky’s mother to reopen the investigation into the evidence
of his torture and murder.
On Friday, the US State Department released a statement on the eve of the
fifth anniversary of Sergei Magnitsky’s death which says: “Despite widely
publicized, credible evidence of criminal conduct resulting in
Magnitskiy’s death, Russian authorities have failed to bring to justice
those responsible. We remain concerned about
impunity for this crime and the atmosphere of intimidation for those who
work to uncover corruption or human rights abuses in the Russian
Federation. On the fifth anniversary of Magnitskiy’s death, we continue
to call for full accountability for those responsible for his unjust
imprisonment and wrongful death and we will continue to fully support the
efforts of those in Russia who seek to bring these individuals to
justice, including through implementation of the Sergei
Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012.”
(http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/11/234094.htm)
Sergei Magnitsky’s case and the impunity of the Russian officials
involved have become a symbol of the corruption and failing justice
system in Russia, and of the abuse of the rights of its citizens who
challenge the authorities.
For more information, please contact:
Magnitsky Justice Campaign
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0dsvgBHNos&list=PLtRWoqwq_IR3XtbGTzwUcnl_
WhKKp
Softly spoken, words bleed the truth
And help discover the broken and confused
The fight for justice and the path of one man
Bring new beginnings and take down corrupt plans
Sergei,
You can’t pass away from the people who know
Sergei,
Your words lead the way for the world to go
You didn’t lose your life in vain
Everyone on Earth will remember the name
Sergei,
Everyone on Earth will remember the name
Jailed for the words that he spoke
His name lives on
In the name of the music and the folks
Who fail to forget that rulers need
To show respect to the people they lead
Sergei,
You can’t pass away from the people who know
Sergei,
Your words lead the way for the world to go
You didn’t lose your life in vain Everyone
on Earth will remember the name
Sergei,
Everyone on Earth will remember the name
Sergei
Sergei
