Russian prison service admits part guilt for death of jailed lawyer

MOSCOW – Russia’s prison service has admitted it was partly guilty for the death of a jailed lawyer whose supporters say he was an innocent victim in a legal battle between officials and a leading investment fund.

Sergei Magnitsky (37), a lawyer for Hermitage Capital Management, once Russia’s biggest equity fund, died on November 16th in the hospital of a Moscow prison from what prosecutors said was heart failure. His family blamed Russia’s notorious prison system for denying the father of two proper medical treatment.

Mr Magnitsky’s lawyers said he was kept in custody illegally and not given proper treatment, despite repeated requests for help.

“There were clear violations from our side there; we will not deny them, but I do not want to make any conclusions yet,” Alexander Smirnov, deputy director of Russia’s federal prison service, told Interfax news agency.

“We are not in any sense playing down our guilt which clearly exists,” Mr Smirnov was quoted as saying. The comment, which amounts to the first admission by a Russian official of any complicity in the death, comes after President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday ordered an inquiry.

Mr Magnitsky was a witness for Hermitage in its contention that corrupt officials embezzled $230 million in tax refunds. Police arrested him in 2008 and accused him of involvement in alleged tax frauds by Hermitage. He was charged with tax evasion, although the case did not come to trial.

The main detective unit of Russia’s interior ministry on Wednesday dismissed claims by Hermitage chief executive Bill Browder that senior policemen were involved in the fraud and said the crime had been successfully solved.

Mr Smirnov said the Magnitsky case had put a “serious stain” on Russia’s judicial system and the results of an internal investigation would be made public soon.

The Magnitsky case comes amid a string of scandals involving members of Russian law enforcement agencies. In recent days the authorities have announced two investigations after news reports said police allegedly beat civilians to death.

Earlier this month, a junior policeman was fired after making an appeal on YouTube to prime minister Vladimir Putin accusing senior officers of corruption. – (Reuters)