Press Release

16 December 2013 – Following the adoption last week of the EU-wide Magnitsky sanctions resolution by the European Parliament, the Magnitsky Justice Campaign today launches a new project: “Magnitsky Case Cover up Revealed in Persons and Documents.”

The first exposé of the new project features the role played by Russia’s Deputy General Prosecutor Victor Grin in the cover up of Sergei Magnitsky’s ill-treatment and death.

“The aim of the new Magnitsky justice project is to expose the officials in the Russian government who concealed the criminal liability of those involved in Magnitsky’s torture and killing and the crimes he had uncovered,” said a Hermitage Capital representative.

The Magnitsky Law adopted in the United States [http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/pl112_208.pdf] stipulates the imposition of targeted sanctions for those involved in the efforts to conceal the legal liability for detention, abuse or death of Sergei Magnitsky.

“The new documents show that Prosecutor Grin was the key official overseeing Magnitsky’s case while Sergei was in custody. Yet, in spite of his conflict of interest, after Magnitsky’s death he was assigned as the key official deciding on whether there were any violations of the law,” said a Hermitage Capital representative.

Documents published today feature the role of Prosecutor Grin, including:

• The failure by Deputy Prosecutor Grin to address the complaint about Magnitsky’s ill-treatment in custody filed by Magnitsky’s colleague Jamison Firestone in October 2009. It was assigned to Prosecutor Grin for an immediate probe, following an intervention from the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, ten days before Sergei Magnitsky’s death in custody[http://followmydata.net/SMRULE/D1720.pdf].

 

• A secret conclusion issued by Prosecutor Grin 18 months after Magnitsky’s death, on 20 May 2011, which stated that there had been no violations of the law by Interior Ministry investigators who mistreated Magnitsky in custody [http://followmydata.net/SMRULE/D1910.pdf]. This decision was then used by the Russian Investigative Committee to justify their failure to prosecute Interior Ministry’s officials in the Magnitsky case.

Documents published today further show how as part of the cover-up of Interior Ministry officials, Prosecutor Grin initiated two criminal cases falsely targeting Sergei Magnitsky after he died. Lawyer for the Magnitsky’s family protested these posthumous decrees by Prosecutor Grin as being contrary to Russian domestic and international legal obligations and based on falsehoods but to no avail:

• Order of 16 June 2011 by Prosecutor Grin falsely naming Magnitsky after his death for the $230 million theft that he had in fact uncovered: http://followmydata.net/SMRULE/D1017.pdf;
• Order of 30 July 2011 by Prosecutor Grin to posthumously reopen  a criminal case against Magnitsky: http://followmydata.net/SMRULE/D1015.pdf;

New materials also reveal that Prosecutor Grin also played a key role in the cover up of the thefts uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky.

Firstly, Prosecutor Grin was directly responsible for the failure to conduct a proper probe into the original complaint about the frauds uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky. The complaint was filed by the Hermitage Fund on 3 December 2007, three weeks prior to the $230 million theft, with General Prosecutor Chaika[http://russian-untouchables.com/rus/230m-theft-from-budget/#D250]. On 5 December 2007 this complaintwas sent to Prosecutor Grin http://followmydata.net/SMRULE/D1908.pdf] but instead of investigating it, the complaint was then forwarded to the same Interior Ministry officials who were named in the complaint and covered up.

Second, it was Prosecutor Grin who signed the indictment for the $230 million theft which found that a“sawmill employee” (Victor Markelov) was responsible for the largest known tax rebate fraud in modern Russian history. The indictment signed by Prosecutor Grin exonerated the tax officials who approved the $230 million refund stating they were “tricked” by Markelov into doing it [http://followmydata.net/SMRULE/D1022.pdf].

 “According to the documents revealed today, Deputy Prosecutor of Russia Victor Grin has been personally involved in covering up Sergei Magnitsky’s persecution and death and the criminal conspiracy that Sergei Magnitsky exposed,” said Magnitsky’s former law partner Jamison Firestone.

“Since the beginning of the campaign, we get questions all the time how it is possible that impunity continuesfor everyone involved in Magnitsky’s death in Russia. Our objective is to shed light on the materials which reveal how the cover up is done, who is involved, and who contributes to it,” said a Hermitage Capital Management representative.

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13 November 2013 – The Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner,Nils Muižnieks, condemned the unlawfulness of the posthumous trial of whistle-blowing lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.

In a report released yesterday, the Commissioner noted that the Magnitsky trial held in Russia  contravened the European Convention on Human Rights. The Commissioner said it is also contrary to the Russian Constitution.

“As regards the issue of posthumous trials, one of which took place in Moscow in the summer of  2013 where a deceased person – Sergei Magnitsky – was apparently found guilty of tax evasion, a  recent judgment of the European Court of Human Rights should be highlighted. In a case where a domestic court found an accused person guilty after his death, the Court found a violation of Article 6,” says the report by Human Rights Commissioner Nils Muižnieks.

Explaining his position, Commissioner Muižnieks highlighted a recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights which found a violation of Article 6 of the European Human Rights Convention in case of a posthumous guilty verdict. This is because the person cannot testify at his trial after his death, which breaches the fundamental principle of justice, on which the European court is based.

“Referring to its established case-law according to which there is a denial of justice where a person convicted in absentia is unable subsequently to obtain from a court a fresh determination of the merits of the charge, the Court concluded that there was no doubt that this principle applied a fortiori when a person was convicted not in his absence but after his death,” says the Report.

In his report, the Commissioner further says that the posthumous trial of Sergei Magnitsky by the Russian authorities this summer was contrary to the Russian Constitutional Court ruling, which does not allow prosecutors to continue to prosecute people after their death, and only allows rehabilitation proceedings.

“In July 2011, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation ruled that posthumous trials are

only allowed with a view to rehabilitating a person who was accused or convicted of a particular crime at the request of his family,” says the Report.

Commissioner Muižnieks also expressed his regret over the lack of results of the official investigation in Russia into Magnitsky’s in-custody death and the impunity of those associated with it:

“The Commissioner regrets that the official investigation into the causes of death of Sergei Magnitsky has neither led to the identification and bringing to account of individuals responsible…”

“The arrest and death in a pre-trial detention centre of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer for a UK-based investment advisory firm Hermitage Capital Management, charged with tax evasion and fraud,  attracted public and international attention to various systemic deficiencies in the way the justice  system operates, including with regard to poor detention conditions and access to medical  treatment while in custody,” says the new report from the Council of Europe.

For further information, please see:

Law and Order in Russia

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11 November 2013 – In a powerful multi-country move, parliamentarians from 21 countries have pledged their support to further the Magnitsky cause and Magnitsky sanctions around the world. Those sanctions include targeted visa bans and asset freezes on the Russian officials responsible for the torture and death of Sergei Magnitsky as well as other gross human rights abusers.

The newly formed Inter-parliamentary Group formed under the title “Justice for Sergei Magnitsky” will hold its inaugural meeting at the European Parliament on 13 November 2013.

“The Magnitsky case has come to represent all that’s wrong with Putin’s Russia. By forming the inter-parliamentary group on the Magnitsky case, we hope to give expression to the best initiatives from parliaments around the world and implement them across the countries represented by parliamentarians participating in this group,” said Hon. Irwin Cotler, MP, the chair of the Justice for Sergei Magnitsky Inter-parliamentary Group, who was counsel to Nelson Mandela and Natan Sharansky during their long periods held behind bars. He also served as Attorney General and Justice Minister of Canada.

The first parliamentary meeting of the Justice for Sergei Magnitsky Group will take place on the eve of fourth anniversary of Magnitsky’s murder in Russian police custody, which took place on the 16^th of November 2009. The parliamentarians are committed to advancing the campaign for Magnitsky sanctions in Europe, Canada and other parts of the world.

“This will be the inaugural launch of a global, coordinated campaign to impose Magnitsky sanctions internationally,” said Hon. Irwin Cotler, MP.

Magnitsky sanctions are already in place in the United States under the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act signed by President Obama into law in December 2012.

In the EU, the European parliament has passed three resolutions calling on the Council of Ministers of the EU to implement a similar approach. Up to now, the Council of Ministers has stalled the implementation of sanctions fearing Russia’s retaliation. Now, with the new inter-parliamentary initiative, the legislators hope to make the Magnitsky Law a reality in Europe and overcome the resistance from the European Council.

The Justice for Sergei Magnitsky Inter-parliamentary group (IPG, website:http://ipg-magnitsky.org/) consists of members of parliament from 21 countries, including Kristiina Ojuland, an Estonian MEP, who initiated the latest Magnitsky resolution at the European parliament; Senator Jim Walsh, who spearheaded the Magnitsky resolution in the Irish Parliament; Dominic RaabMP, who authored the  Magnitsky Motion at the British Parliament; Barbara Lochbihler, German MEP and chair of the Human Rights Subcommittee of the European Parliament; Marek Migalski, a Polish MEP, and Jose Ignacio Sanches, a Spanish MP, who took upon the Magnitsky case in their respective roles. The Magnitsky Inter-Parliamentary Group also comprises an advisory board of Russian activists and campaigners involved in human rights and civil advocacy. It aims to build momentum around the initiatives that developed organically in different countries around the Magnitsky legislation.

For further information, please see:

Law and Order in Russia

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8 November 2013 – The Russian Investigative Committee has informed U.S.
lawyer Jamison Firestone, Sergei Magnitsky’s former law partner, that it
found no grounds to prosecute Olga Stepanova, the former head of Moscow Tax
Office No 28, and the person who approved the majority of the $230 million
illegal tax refund uncovered by the late Sergei Magnitsky. The Russian
Investigative Committee has exonerated all other tax officials involved in
approving the fraudulent tax refunds which cost Sergei Magnitsky his life
for exposing.

“No evidence was obtained which is sufficient to charge O.G. Stepanova or
other persons under Articles 286 or 285 of the Russian Criminal Code
[overstepping authority or abuse of authority],” the Investigative
Committee reported in their letter.

The Investigative Committee also said that it failed to question a number
of witnesses.

“The investigative actions that are possible without an accused, have been
completed except for a series of questioning of witnesses whose whereabouts
have not been established,” said the Investigative Committee in its letter.

Earlier, the Russian authorities informed Jamison Firestone that they were
not able to question two of Ms Stepanova’s deputies, Ms Olga Tsareva and Ms
Elena Anisimova, because they had left the country. These were the same
people who purchased luxury apartments in Dubai, along with Ms Stepanova’s
ex husband Vladlen Stepanov, shortly after the approval of the illegal $230
million refund in December 2007.

Jamison Firestone filed a complaint seeking a criminal investigation to be
opened into the tax officials, including head of Moscow Tax Office No 28
Olga Stepanova, on 15 April 2011, two years and a half ago. In his
complaint, Mr Firestone cited evidence of their role in the approval of the
fraudulent $230 million refund, and the use of illicit proceeds for foreign
real estate purchases. During this time, the Investigative Committee has
refused to conduct a proper investigation, and now informed him that they
have effectively exonerated all the tax officials involved. Earlier, the
investigative department of the Russian Interior Ministry informed Jamison
Firestone that they also found no evidence of wrong-doing by the tax
officials. Appeals to the General Prosecutor’s Office seeking to compel a
proper investigation of tax officials in the Magnitsky case have been
refused.

“All branches of the Russian law enforcement with direct supervision from
the Russian General Prosecutor’s Office have exonerated the tax officials
who were clearly involved in one of the largest refund frauds in Russian
history. This can only be explained that the cover up is ordered and
approved at the highest level of the Russian government,” said a Hermitage
Capital representative.

For further information, please see:

Law and Order in Russia

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4 November 2013 – The widow and mother of late whistle-blowing lawyer Sergei Magnitsky along with 54 famous politicians, human rights activists and victims of human rights abuses are calling on politicians to implement Magnitsky Sanctions in Europe.

In the opening word to the new book, “Why Europe Needs a Magnitsky Law?”, Magnitsky’s mother Natalia urges European politicians to show courage, like her son had done despite being tortured in custody, and to enact the Magnitsky sanctions across the European Union, similar to the law adopted last year in the United States:

“My son’s life was short… He chose not to compromise himself and paid for that with his life… I do not believe that the law adopted in the US is anti-Russian, but that it introduces targeted restrictions for certain people failing to respect human rights and that this is fair, even if insufficient, punishment for them. And I hope the countries of the European Union will find the courage to follow the US.”

The Magnitsky sanctions comprise visa bans and asset freezes on individuals responsible for Mr Magnitsky’s ill-treatment and killing, the cover up of his death in custody, and other human rights violations. The sanctions have been imposed in the US under the “Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act” which were approved with an overwhelming bi-partisan majority in the U.S. Congress and signed by President Barack Obama into law on 14 December 2012.

The book launch in the UK is hosted by British MP Dominic Raab, one of the book’s contributors, and by Fair Trials International, the justice organization for falsely accused, and Article 19, an organization fighting for freedom of expression and information. The book makes an emotive and rational case for why the Magnitsky sanctions must now be implemented in Europe.

 

Robert Buckland, MP, in his contribution to the book speaks of the moral duty to act:

 

“It is our right as a free country to …operate our borders in a way that we see fit. That is why it is now time for visa restrictions, at the very least, to be enacted against the Russian officials in this case…In my eyes, both professionally and personally, we have a moral duty to do what we can…in the absence of such moral leadership by the Russian government, we must send a clear message to those implicated in this scandal that it will not go unnoticed.”

 

Dominic Raab, MP, who initiated the Magnitsky motion in the British Parliament’s Backbench Committee, says it is in the UK’s interests to protect its borders and its financial system from Russian crime:

 

 “We should try and protect ourselves from the spillover effect of these [Russian] crimes, and the idea of having visa bans and asset freezes is, in a sense, quite modest. We’re not saying that we can arrest people for committing these appalling crimes in Russia, just that they can’t travel to UK or invest their money here.”

 

Magnitsky’s widow, Natalia, writes in the conclusion to the book of her family horror that lasts to this day, four years after the killing of her husband:

 

“I still remember with horror that terrible day, which divided our lives into “before” and “after”, and I still keep thinking back to the tragedy that we experienced and continue to experience today…I still find it hard to believe that this happened to my husband, that this happened to our family, and this even happened in our time, in the 21^st century.”

 

The new 299-page book was the brainchild of a Russian-French journalist Elena Servettaz. It is a powerful collection of 54 essays by European, U.S. and Canadian lawmakers, Russian human rights and civil society activists and victims of human rights abuse. The relatives of high-profile victims of human rights abuse in Russia speak in the book, including the daughter of Anna Politkovsksaya, the Russian journalist killed in 2006 in her apartment building after exposing human rights abuses in Chechnya, the father of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a singer of Pussy Riot punk group, sentenced in 2012 to two years in penal colony following a several-seconds long anti-Putin protest in a Russian church, and Marina Litvinenko, the widow of Alexander Litvinenko poisoned in London with radioactive polonium in 2006.

 

Vera Politkovskaya, daughter of Anna Politkovskaya, said:

 

“This [the Magnitsky sanctions] is the only way to fight these people [Russian officials “feeding off” the regime] and the defencelesssness of the absolute majority of the Russian citizens.”

 

“Targeted individual sanctions is the least the West can do to uphold its values and help those who do not have the legal protections of a democracy,” said Marina Litvinenko.

 

Elena Servettaz, the editor of “Why Europe Needs a Magnitsky Law?”, said:

 

“I am very happy that the launch of this book will take place in the British Parliament which has proved many times that issues of corruption and human rights really do matter… You will find here direct testimony from Russian citizens who have witness and faced injustice, prison terms and even murder. But above all, you will find here the ideas of those who are convinced that the Magnitsky Law in Europe is the only way to ensure such horrific events never happen again.”

 

The new Magnitsky book is available free of charge by contacting the editor at: magnitskybook@gmail.com and will be downloadable online at:www.magnitskybook.com.

 

The book launch will take place tomorrow at noon at the British parliament and at 6:30 pm at the Free Word Centre (http://www.freewordcentre.com/info/visiting-us/) where it is hosted by Fair Trials International and Article 19 with contribution from English PEN.

For further information, please see:

Law and Order in Russia