By Pearl Rimon
Impunity Watch, Europe Desk

MOSCOW, Russia —  In its annual Report on Human Rights Practices for 2011, The United States Department of State strongly criticized Russia for the continuing impunity of the Russian officials who were involved in the killing of Sergei Magnitsky.

The report states that Magnitsky’s death was a result of medical abuse and neglect during pretrial detention. The report stated the following, “In May the Pros­e­cu­tor General’s Office con­cluded its probe into the Min­istry of Inter­nal Affairs offi­cers who arrested and pros­e­cuted Mag­nit­skiy. It found no evi­dence of wrong­do­ing. In June the Pros­e­cu­tor General’s Office approved the find­ings of the Min­istry of Inter­nal Affairs offi­cers accused by Mag­nit­skiy of tax fraud and the theft of 5 bil­lion rubles (approx­i­mately $150 mil­lion). In their report the offi­cers claimed that Mag­nit­skiy him­self car­ried out the theft that he reported to authorities.”

The Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act involves the banning of (1) individuals responsible for the death or detention of Magnitsky or involved in any related criminal conspiracy; or (2) individuals responsible for any human right violations against individuals who seek to expose illegal activity by the Russian government.

Despite former Russian President Medvedev’s intervention in the Magnitsky manner, nobody has been convicted in Russia for their involvement with the case. “Medvedev acknowl­edged that a ‘crime had been com­mit­ted.’ How­ever, on August 2, police refused a request by the coun­cil to rein­ves­ti­gate Magnitskiy’s death,” says the U.S State Department’s report.

The Magnitsky issue highlighted the rampant corruption that occurred on different levels of the government. In this particular case, Magnitsky was prosecuted by the very same Internal Affair Ministry officers that he accused of fraudulent behavior.

The U.S. is not the only country considering placing a ban on Russian officials linked to the Magnitsky case, a group of Italian deputies is advocating the idea and is currently slated to be discussed in Italian parliament for this week. The Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is expected to announce whether or not it has decided to conduct an independent investigation into the death of Magnitsky due to Russia’s failure in convicting anyone for his death.

For further information please see:

The Heritage Foundation – After WTO Membership Promoting Human Rights In Russia With The Magnitsky Act – 14 May 2012

Law and Order Russia – U.S. Government Escalates Criticism of Russia’s Handling of Magnitsky Case – 28 May 2012

Press Release
Hermitage Capital

Italian Parliament Debates Response to the Magnitsky Case

30 May 2012 – The Italian Parliament held a debate on the Magnitsky motion on Monday, giving one of the strongest condemnations yet of any European national parliament of Russia’s handling of the torture and murder in police custody of 37-year old Russian whistle-blowing lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. The Magnitsky motion was introduced by Matteo Mecacci, MP from Italy’s Democratic/Radical Party, and Chair of the Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.“The Magnitsky case is a test for European politics.  We are calling on European countries, and in this case on Italy, to act to stop officials responsible for the torture and murder of an innocent and corageous man, from freely traveling and investing in our nation. This is not a question of politics, is a question of human justice that needs to have an answer,” said Matteo Mecacci, MP.

Supported by representatives from five different parties in the Italian parliament, the motion calls for visa bans and asset freezes on the 60 Russian officials identified by the US Helsinki Commission for their role in the false arrest, torture and death of Sergei Magnitsky and the $230 million corruption he uncovered.

The Magnitsky motion calls the two-and-a-half year investigation into Magnitsky’s death “unsatisfactory” and condemns the posthumous prosecution launched against Mr Magnitsky.

“The proceedings initiated by Russian authorities in order to ascertain the cause of Magnitsky’s death have to date been completely unsatisfactory, culminating… in the reopening of a proceeding against Magnitsky, thus giving rise to the first proceeding against a deceased person in the history of the Russian Federation,” says the Italian motion.

“The detailed complaints which were recorded and expressed by Magnitsky himself over the course of his imprisonment have allowed accurate identification of those responsible 60 people within the Russan government…who have not to date been subject to due criminal process,” says the motion.

The motion urges the Italian government to act by imposing sanctions on the 60 Russian officials:

“To not issue entrance visas to the sixty people on the Cardin’s list in Italian territory or under Italian jurisdiction, and to identify, if any, the assets belonging to the sixty people on the Cardin’s list…and to take the appropriate measures in order to attain a substantial block on the availability of said assets.”

In addition to Mecacci, the motion is supported by Italian parliamentarians Luca Volontè, Fabio Evangelisti, Gianni Vernetti, Lapo Pistelli, Ricardo Migliori, Ettore Rosato, Marina Sereni, Antonio Misiani, Rita Bernardini, Elisebetta Zamparutti, Maurizio Turco, Maria Antonietta Farina Coscioni, and Marco Beltrandi.

During the debate, “The People of Freedom” party introduced a different motion on the Magnitsky case. It recognised that the Russian government failed to provide clear answers to the EU on the Magnitsky matter, but stopped short of calling for Italy to impose visa sanctions and asset freezes on the complicit Russian officials.

“The People of Freedom” party was launched five years ago by Silvio Berlusconi, former Prime Minister and a friend of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Mr Berlusconi was one of the few Western leaders who attended President Putin’s inauguration on 7 May 2012 in Moscow.

“We are calling on the Italian government not to allow Russian torturers and murders to come into Italy,” said a representative of Hermitage Capital. “We hope that personal friendships don’t get in the way of justice.”

The Magnitsky motion is now going into the consultation phase between various factions in the Italian parliament and the Italian government. It should be voted on at a plenary session next week.

For further information please contact:

Hermitage Capital
Phone:             +44 207 440 17 77
E-mail:             info@lawandorderinrussia.org
Website:          http://lawandorderinrussia.org
Facebook:        http://on.fb.me/hvIuVI
Twitter:           @KatieFisher__
Livejournal:     http://hermitagecap.livejournal.com/

By Terance Walsh
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin has articulated his intentions to fight any sanctions imposed by the United States in response to the cover-up of Sergei Magnitsky’s death.

In an executive order dated May 7, 2012 Putin said, “Hereby I instruct to carry out active work to prevent the introduction of unilateral extraterritorial sanctions by the USA against Russian legal entities and individuals.”

Putin’s remarks are the first official statements that explicitly mark an intention to fight international opposition to Russia’s handling of the Magnitsky case.  His strong opposition to sanctions comes shortly after the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012.  The act’s aim is to impose sanctions on countries that commit gross human rights violations.

Magnitsky was a Russian lawyer who worked for Hermitage Capital and died in a prison almost a year after he was arrested on tax evasion charges.

Putin’s stance has drawn the ire of those who would like to see justice for Magnitsky.  In an official statement a Hermitage Capital representative said, “Putin’s executive order shows clearly that the entire Russian government is now working in the interests of corrupt officials who have committed grave crimes. President Putin is ready to use the full resources of the state to fight sanctions but is not ready to do anything at all to prosecute his own corrupt officials who stole $230 million and who then tortured the whistle-blower Sergei Magnitsky who discovered the theft.”

Additionally, Putin’s statements come just ahead of a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) scheduled for the end of May.  At the meeting, the motion to impose sanctions against Russia over the Magnitsky case will be discussed.

The European Parliament is also become increasingly vocal about Russia’s violations.  For example Tim Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Liberals and Democrats leader said, “So far our policy of polite appeasement has not worked. Russia needs access and respectability in the outside world more than the outside world needs Russian gas or raw materials… The adoption of similar laws on both sides of the Atlantic to block visas and freeze the assets of those Russian officials, and their immediate families, involved or complicit in the murder of Sergei Magnitsky, the lawyer who died in jail after alleging widespread tax fraud by officials, would have a sobering effect.”

For more information please see:

Law and Order in Russia — Putin Declares Fighting Magnitsky Sanctions One of His Top Foreign Policy Goals — 16 May 2012

Trustlaw — Putin’s Effort to Block U.S. Sanctions Serves Corrupt Officials – Hermitage Capital — 16 May 2012