Press Release
Hermitage Capital

11 July 2012 – In an effort by Russian Federation Council members visiting Washington to fight against Magnitsky sanctions, the group handed a dossier to US Senators defaming Sergei Magnitsky posthumously and fully contradicting the conclusions of the Russian President’s Human Rights Council report on the Magnitsky case.

In their report, members of the Federation Council claimed that Magnitsky never discovered the theft of $230 million of taxes from the government. This is contradicted by four of his testimonies before and after his arrest (http://russian-untouchables.com/eng/testimonies) as well as President Medvedev’s own Human Rights Council report which referred to a state-sanctioned cover up of the theft (http://russian-untouchables.com/eng/civil-right-council).

The Russian Federation Council’s report also claimed that the wounds on Magnitsky’s body which were inflicted on the night he died, had nothing to do with his death on November 16th, 2009. This was contradicted by the President’s Human Rights Council and the Moscow Public Oversight Commission also which conducted an independent investigation into Magnitsky’s detention.

They further claimed that Magnitsky’s arrest was “legal” in spite of the fact that he was arrested by the very same officers who he had testified against on 5 June 2008 and 7 October 2008 (http://russian-untouchables.com/rus/docs/D423.pdf).

Finally, and most cynically, they claim that Magnitsky was a “drunk” and “out of shape.” They say these conditions led to his death. This was not true and contradicted by his widely known reputation as one of the most respected professionals in Moscow.

“In addition to prosecuting Magnitsky posthumously, these representatives of the Putin regime now want to defame him posthumously. Their moral compass is completely backward if they think this is going to sway the people who want justice for Sergei Magnitsky,” said a Hermitage Capital representative.

 

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