5 October 2015 – Sergei Magnitsky, the Russian lawyer who exposed a $230 million corrupt scheme by Russian officials, has been posthumously honoured by the Allard Prize Committee for International Integrity. The recognition comes one month before the 6thanniversary of his murder in Russian police custody at the age of 37.
Sergei Magnitsky’s mother, wife and son attended the award ceremony held in Vancouver, Canada at the University of British Columbia’s Peter A. Allard School of Law.
On accepting the honourable recognition on behalf of Sergei Magnitsky, his mother said:
“I would like to thank all people who remember Sergei. Because when the person is remembered, that person is alive. I recently saw a person who said I am alive because of Sergei’s sacrifice.”
Valery Borschev, chair of the Moscow Public Oversight Commission, who investigated how Sergei Magnitskyhad been tortured and murdered in police custody, said:
“Magnitsky lived like Solzhenitsyn wrote – don’t be afraid, don’t beg. I think he is a hero.”
Sergei Magnitsky was one of four finalists for the 2015 Allard Prize for International Integrity. The other finalists included Indonesia Corruption Watch, and two recipients of the prize – John Githongo, who exposed a $1 billion corruption scandal in the Kenyan government, and Rafael Marques de Morais, a journalist writing on issues of conflict diamonds and army brutality in Angola. (View the Allard Prize short film about Sergei Magnitsky and the other finalists)
The Allard Prize for International Integrity recognizes individuals and organisations who show exceptional courage and leadership in combating corruption.
Sergei Magnitsky’s name has become synonymous with the lack of rule of law in Russia. His torture and killing in Russian police custody after he uncovered and testified about Russian officials involved in the $230 million theft has led to the adoption of the 2012 Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act in the United States which imposes targeted sanctions in the form of visa bans and asset freezes on those involved in his case, as well as in other gross human rights abuses. A Global Magnitsky Bill which would apply similar sanctions to cases of human rights violations around the world is currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate after its approval by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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