A Voice for the Voiceless

Council of Europe Report Denounces Russian Persecution of Hermitage Partner as “Not Bona Fide Pursuit of Criminal Justice”

Press Release
For Immediate Distribution

 

 24 January 2014 – In its new report on the Magnitsky case, the Council of Europe Rapporteur has criticized the case opened by the Russian Interior Ministry against Hermitage Capital partner, Ivan Cherkasov, saying it was not a “bona fide pursuit of criminal justice.”

The criminal case against Mr Cherkasov was used as a pretext to search offices of Hermitage Capital and its law firm in Moscow, Firestone Duncan, and tounlawfully seize documents for the Hermitage Fund’s companies, which were then used to fraudulently re-register those companies into the names of previously convicted criminals. The criminals then fraudulently applied for $230 million of taxes that Hermitage Fund’s companies had paid in Russia.

Following the Council of Europe investigation, the Rapporteur, Swiss MP Andreas Gross, concluded that the case against Kameya was not a bona fide investigation.

“I conclude that the criminal case must have been opened for other reasons than the bona fide pursuit of criminal justice. One of the real reasons might well have been to justify the two “raids” on the offices of Firestone Duncan and Hermitage, during which items were taken by the investigators, which, as it is alleged, were later used in the commission of the tax reimbursement fraud denounced by Sergei Magnitsky,” says Council of Europe Rapporteur in his report.

The case alleged tax underpayment by Kameya, of which Cherkasov was general director, in spite of fact that the companies had received clean tax audits from the Russian Federal Tax Service. Sergei Magnitsky in his testimony stressed that the case against Kameya was fabricated by the Interior Ministry officers in order to commit fraud against Hermitage.

The Interior Ministry officers who were in charge of the Kameya case, Karpov and Silchenko, have been sanctioned for their role in the Magnitsky case by the U.S. government.

All appeals to close the case for the lack of evidence of any crime have been rejected by the Interior Ministry in spite of definitive conclusions by the tax bodies that all taxes had been paid in full and correctly.

Recently, Hermitage lawyers learned that the Interior Ministry appointed an expert to find evidence for continuing the case. The expert concluded that there was no basis, but his conclusions have been kept secret from Hermitagelawyers for three months. A complaint has now been filed by Hermitage lawyers against the Interior Ministry to compel them to close the Kameya case as groundless and unlawful.

For more information, please see:

Law and Order in Russia

Report “Refusing Impunity for the Killers of Sergei Magnitsky

New Deaths Make Ukrainians Unsure How Long Tensions Must Continue

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

KYIV, Ukraine – Continued tensions sparked fatalities in Ukraine, as government and opposition leaders called a fragile truce. Meanwhile, the country’s neighbors fought over what message to send Ukraine.

Violence flared amidst anti-government sentiments that have continued in Ukraine since late November 2013. (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

On 22 January 2014, clashes between activists and police ended with two dead for the first time since anti-government protests began in late November over Ukraine’s decision to back out of EU treaty talks.

Ukrainian authorities identified one of the deceased as Serhiy Nihoyan, the son of Armenian refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh. In December 2013, Nihoyan travelled from his home in eastern Ukraine to join the protests. The other man shot was a Belarusian citizen, Mikhail Zhyznewski, who joined the protest with Una-Unso, a Ukrainian far-right group. A third activist was later found dead in a forest near Kyiv, after his abduction last week.

In this light, Ukrainian opposition leaders began to observe a fragile truce, which may lead to a meeting with President Viktor Yanukovych, who asked parliament to hold an emergency session to discuss the ongoing crisis.

The speaker said the session will address the opposition’s  demand to remove government officials.

Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko asserted that he would lead pro-EU protesters “on the attack” if elections were not called. Ukrainian media outlets report that activists took over reigional state administrations in western cities; namely, Lviv and Rivne. The governor of Lviv, Oleg Salo has been forced out of office.

On 23 January 2014, Head of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso received assurances that President Yanukovych will not declare a state of emergency, after Barroso and Yanukovych spoke over the phone.

In the past week, hundreds of activists and dozens of police have been injured near Kyiv’s Independence Square.

Klitschko urged both the protesters and police cease all use of force until his talks with Yanukovych were completed. He planned three main demands to the talks:1) a snap presidential election; 2) the cancellation of the new anti-protest laws; and 3) the resignation of the government.

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said opposition leaders should be “more humble” and “move away from the language of ultimatums.”

Azarov denied police responsibility for the deaths, saying that live ammunition was not carried.

The European Union promised that it would “rethink” its relationship with Ukraine if there was a “systematic violation of human rights.” Additionally, the United States accused Ukrainian officials of failing to “engage in real dialogue” and revoked the visas of “several Ukrainians who were linked to the violence.” Russia then accused the EU and US of improperly interfering in Ukrainian affairs.

To achieve peace, however, Ukraine must listen to its people above any foreign body.

For further information, please see:

CNN International – Ukraine: No Deal in Talks between Government and Protesters – January 24, 2014

Human Rights Watch – Ukraine: Police Beatings, Kidnappings in Kiev – January 24, 2014

BBC News – Ukraine Protests: Crisis Talks after Day of Bloodshed – January 23, 2014

Bloomberg Businessweek – Ukraine Opposition Urges Continued Truce – January 23, 2014