“The Magnitsky Files” to be Screened at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Monaco Marking its European Premiere
Press Release
4 July 2012 – “The Magnitsky Files,” an 18-minute documentary showcasing the links between the Russian government and organised crime, will be premiered at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Monaco on Thursday, 5 June 2012 at 12:30 pm.
The event entitled “Rule of Law and the Sergei Magnitsky Case” has been organized by members of national parliaments from a number of OSCE countries including: Joao Soares (Portugal), Walburga Habsburg-Douglas (Sweden), Matteo Mecacci (Italy), Tony Lloyd (UK), Hedy Fry (Canada), Doris Barnett (Germany) and Oleh Bilorus (Ukraine).
The screening will be taking place at the OSCE Parliamentary assembly’s annual meeting in which 320 members of parliament from 56 OSCE countries will be gathering to discuss human rights, conflict prevention and promotion of democracy throughout OSCE countries.
After the screening of “The Magnitsky Files”, William Browder, who is running a global campaign for justice for his late lawyer, will be leading a discussion about the Magnitsky case and what it means for the rule of law in Russia. He will also be working with members of different national parliaments around the world to promote visa sanctions and asset freezes of Russian officials implicated in Magnitsky’s persecution.
“The Magnitsky Files” show how Russian officials who have approved massive fraudulent tax refunds have close links and travelled on numerous occasions jointly with criminals who perpetrated the thefts.
“It was the exposure of these crimes and illicit connections that cost Mr Magnitsky his life,” said U.S. Senator John McCain (http://www.scribd.com/doc/98337177/Untitled).
Subsequent investigations by independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta showed that serial thefts from the Treasury continued after Sergei Magnitsky’s death, and that over $800 million was stolen between 2006 and 2010. Officials implicated in the thefts and their families have been shown to have enriched themselves with $47 million in property and assets held both in Russia and abroad.
“The Magnitsky Files” is dedicated to late Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer for the Hermitage Fund, who uncovered and testified about the role of government officials in the serial thefts from the treasury, who then was arrested by the same officials he had testified against, and tortured to death in custody.
Over 250,000 Russians have already watched “Magnitsky Files” on Youtube since its release last Thursday (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaQP8IAITmk&feature=channel&list=UL). It has become one of the most frequent posts on Twitter, live Internet blogs and other social media. Russian state TV channels, however, have refused to show it or refer to it in any of their programming.
The U.S. premier of the “Magnitsky Files: Organized Crime Inside the Russian Government” documentary took place in Washington, D.C. last week with U.S. Senator John McCain and Freedom House’ David Kramer.
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/
ICTJ In Focus June 2012 Issue 14
Syrian Revolution Digest – Monday 9 July 2012
THE COMMENTARY IN THIS PIECE DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF IMPUNITY WATCH.
*WARNING VIDEOS MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES*
Assad’s War!
He’s fighting against Al-Qaed’a, the Americans, the Israelis, the French, the Saudis, Alien invaders, zombies, vampires, shadows, windmills, voices in his mind… Indeed, Assad is already a legend in his own mind, and had his madness not resulted in so much bloodshed, his life story might have made good material for a mediocre high-school comedy. But the bloodshed, and the fact that the fate of millions is at stake and that a country is coming undone… to describe his war as tragic will be the understatement of the century.
Monday July 09, 2012
Today’s Death toll: 82. The Breakdown: 23 in Deir Ezzor, 18 in Idlib, 8 in Aleppo, 8 in Hama, 7 in Daraa, 7 in Homs and 6 in Damascus Suburbs.
News
Op-Eds & Special Reports
Abrams says he hopes the US is doing more for the opposition than it is claiming publicly, if only for the role the US will want to play in a post-Assad Syria. “If it’s the Saudis and the Qataris giving money and guns to the opposition, then it’s the Saudis and Qataris who are going to have influence when that opposition is in power,” he says, “and the US won’t have the influence it could’ve had.”
Turkey remains widely admired in the Middle East, but the excitement at Erdogan’s tough talk against Israel that made him so popular in the Arab world a couple of years ago has cooled. And for all their military might and economic muscle, the Turks now find themselves with almost no leverage in Damascus.
Gen Tlas’s defection is therefore significant for two reasons. First, although his absence will not in itself be a major blow, the signal it sends to other non-Alawite elites could be important. Other generals may not have Gen Tlas’s wealth and connections; some might still be tempted to leave while they can.
Video Highlights
The pounding of Tal Kalakh, Homs Province http://youtu.be/a0PlBSi0l_Q Sounds of warhttp://youtu.be/mcZe5ubGJoQ The town nearby of Ghonto gets pounded as wellhttp://youtu.be/jyUFWndey_g , http://youtu.be/jSaSjVdmBTs ,http://youtu.be/MwjwSQ54QTc Homes catch fire http://youtu.be/C8xCemFkmgw Rastanis also pounded http://youtu.be/pGsAKWwpup4 Some martyrshttp://youtu.be/u46TwHm1ueU
And of course, the pounding of Old Homs continues: Jouret Al-Shayahhttp://youtu.be/TShYJ6dLGGM , http://youtu.be/5OJJ9AYCKMs ,http://youtu.be/wB204DT-Of4 , http://youtu.be/TtBgMZRJWYY ,http://youtu.be/s3Fii88vGJY Al–Qarabis http://youtu.be/ld_EQFGpZVQ Tanks venture inhttp://youtu.be/fzgc5pAnt1c BMPs and armored vehicles patrol and pound the neighborhood http://youtu.be/OVT6BG1s_IU , http://youtu.be/K_aSU0eDw7AKhaldiyeh http://youtu.be/rppu_-9VTzc , http://youtu.be/QoJEtXTWhkA
The pounding of Basr Al-Harir http://youtu.be/oEbxtI4dFpY ,http://youtu.be/IW32lNdk2js the farmland around the town has been minded by pro-Assad militias, which led to the death of these two workers when their tractor hit a minehttp://youtu.be/VLjyFRunxCM
The pounding of Na’eemah, Daraa Province http://youtu.be/kUERJx4dkwY The pounding of Daraa City http://youtu.be/8uas4pDEMKY The pounding of Bosra, Daraa Provincehttp://youtu.be/maJrQP504Mg The pounding of Khirbet Ghazalehhttp://youtu.be/idCBbROUojc
The pounding of Ariha, Idlib http://youtu.be/TdX-hq2z5uI The pounding leaves many dead lying in the streets http://youtu.be/IKTOYCA6lk8 Some of today’s martyrshttp://youtu.be/5yM9T2C9nfo , http://youtu.be/DGXuvflya8Q The woundedhttp://youtu.be/w8XrkuVAqn4 , http://youtu.be/d6JLXV1XDn4
The pounding of Eizaz, Aleppo Province http://youtu.be/uvv_OC_epgg
Two Shiite Protestors Shot and Killed by Saudi Authorities
By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Two Shiite protesters, Akbar Al-Shakuri and Mohammed Al-Filfil, were shot and killed by police in the Saudi Arabian town of Qatif. The police were sent to disperse those who gathered to protest the arrest of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqer Al-Nimr.
A statement from an Interior Ministry spokesman, Major General Mansour Turki, said the deaths followed a protest in the village of Awamiya after the arrest of Nimr, but said that no clash occurred between protesters and police.
“Security authorities had been notified by a nearby medical center on the arrival of four individuals brought in by their relatives,” Turki told Reuters. “Two of them were dead, the other two were slightly injured. Competent authorities initiated investigations over the incident.”
The Awamiya protests followed earlier demonstrations held in Qatif, where at least six protestors were shot and killed after the city held the largest protest it has seen since November and December.
“In the aftermath of the arrest … a limited number of people have assembled in the town of Awamiya,” Turki said. “Gun shots have been overheard in random areas of the town. However, there was no security confrontation whatsoever.”
Hussain Al-Alk, a resident of Qatif and a staffer at the Adala Center for Human Rights, states that hundreds of protesters gathered in Qatif hours after Nimr was shot and arrested last Sunday. Alk believed that Nimr was arrested because the government adhered to the demands of influential Sunnis to escalate its pressure on Shiite opposition.
“It seems that in the last month the government became too worried. The Sunnis have started saying, ‘Why when the Sunnis are talking against the government you are arresting him immediately, while Shias, you are not doing anything to him,'” said Alk.
Saudi officials stated that Nimr hurt his leg when authorities were chasing him. Seen as a radical cleric by the government, Nimr was arrested because the Interior Ministry considered him an “instigator of sedition.” The Ministry also said that he would be interrogated after he receivedtreatment for his injury. The official Saudi press agency reported that Nimr was arrested after he and his followers exchanged fire with security forces and crashed into a police vehicle.
Nimr’s brother, Mohammed, stated that the cleric was arrested while driving from a farm to his house in Qatif.
“He had been wanted by the interior ministry for a couple of months because of his political views,” Mohammed said. “In the past couple of months he has adopted a lot of Shiite issues and expressed his views on them, demanding their rights.”
Mohammed also said that the cleric was previously detained for several days in 2004 and 2006.
In a sermon delivered ten days ago, Nimr confidently stated that he would be arrested or killed, saying that he had only “heightened” the claims of his supporters. Shiites in the Sunni-ruled kingdom say they struggle to get government jobs or university places, that their neighborhoods suffer from under-investment, and that their places of worship are often closed down. The government denies charges of discrimination.
For further information, please see:
Al Bawaba — Saudi Arabia: Two Shiites Killed During Clashes with Police — 9 July 2012
Al Jazeera — Saudi Protest Crackdown Leaves Two Dead — 9 July 2012
BBC News — Two Die During Saudi Arabia Protest at Shia Cleric Arrest — 9 July 2012
Rasid — Saudi Security Forces Kill Two Protesters in Qatif — 9 July 2012
Reuters — Saudi Arabia Says Two Killed after Cleric’s Arrest — 9 July 2012