Sergei Magnitsky was a Russian lawyer specialising in tax law who worked as a counsel for Hermitage Capital Management. During his work he discovered and unveiled one of the biggest corruption scandals in Russia, which implicated high-ranking Russian officials. He was arrested on tax evasion charges filed as part of the investigation launched against Hermitage Capital Management. S. Magnitsky died in a Moscow detention facility as a result of harsh detention conditions and the lack of appropriate medical care.
In 2011 the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights called three times the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs to impose appropriate visa and financial sanctions on Russian officials responsible for Sergei Magnitsky’s death. First appeal was issued by the HFHR in February 2011.
HFHR indicates that due to the serious human rights violations the death of Sergei Magnitsky cannot be treated as an exclusively internal affair of Russia. During the years since his death, the perpetrators have not been duly punished and some officers allegedly responsible for his death were even awarded promotions.
This is the first response of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the HFHR’ letters.
