Doctors charged over Magnitsky`s death

The Voice of Russia

Russia’s Investigative Committee has charged two doctors in connection with the pre-trial detention death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, official spokesman for the Committee, Vladimir Markin, said. He added that a direct link was found between Magnitsky`s death and the actions of the doctors. New hearings are scheduled for August 24th.

Chief physician for the Butyrskaya prison Larisa Litvinova is charged with causing death by negligence. Dmitry Kratov, the deputy director of the prison, is charged with carelessness. If found guilty, both may face from three to five years prison.

The VoR asked lawyer for Magnitsky`s family, Dmitry Kharitonov, to comment on the issue:

“Our constitution says that if there is enough evidence to charge somebody of something, it is allowed to do so, so it is no surprise that the Investigative Committee has ruled out this decision. My client, Sergei Magnitsky`s widow, wants punishment of those who are really responsible for her husband’s death. It is evident that doctors at the prison did their job poorly, making wrong diagnoses and ignoring our complaints.”

Sergei Magnitsky was a Firestone Duncan attorney representing a UK-based investment advisory firm Hermitage Capital Management. He was charged with tax fraud, which allowed him and his associated to steal 5,4 billion roubles from state budget. In late 2008 he was placed at the Butyrskaya pre-detention center and later transferred to the Matrosskaya Tishina, where he died in November, 16, 2009. First, the cause of death was announced as ‘pancreonecrosis’, but later the administration of the pre-detention facility said he had died of heart failure. Russian human right activists expect the current investigation to improve the situation inside detention facilities. Chairwoman of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Lyudmila Alekseyeva, comments:

“Magnitsky`s death was followed by the death of 50 more people who had been kept in pre-detention centers. So we cannot put all responsibility on just two doctors. The whole system should be changed. As members of the working group established to investigate Magnitsky`s death, will do our best to change this system.”

In 2009 Russia`s President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the Justice Ministry, the Interior Ministry and the presidential human rights council to make a thorough investigation into Magnitsky`s case. Mr. Medvedev also ordered inspection of prison hospitals all over Russia and fired twenty top officials of the Federal Penitentiary Service and sixteen prison officials, including the head of the Butyrskaya pre-trial center. In January 2011 Mr. Medvedev signed a bill allowing detainees with grave illnesses to escape imprisonment. займ на карту срочно без отказа онлайн займы https://zp-pdl.com https://zp-pdl.com займы на карту