Stop the Untouchables. Justice for Sergei Magnitsky.

Updated Magnitsky Act Introduced in U.S. Congress

Ria Novosti

An updated bill imposing a visa ban and asset freeze on Russian officials allegedly linked to the death in custody of Russian tax lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, as well as on “individuals responsible for other gross violations of human rights” in Russia has been introduced in the U.S. Congress.

Magnitsky, who worked for Hermitage Capital, a British investment fund, died in the Matrosskaya Tishina pre-trial detention center in Moscow in November 2009, almost a year after being arrested on tax evasion charges. He suffered from untreated pancreatitis and gallstones. Two former prison doctors have been charged with negligence in connection with his death, but a criminal case against one of them was recently dropped.

Just days before his arrest, Magnitsky claimed to have uncovered a massive fraud in which Moscow tax and police officials had allegedly embezzled $230 million in tax rebates by taking over Hermitage subsidiaries and using them to claim tax rebates. His supporters say the legal case investigators launched against him was a means for the same security officials he had accused to muzzle him and stop his activities.