European Parliamentarians Challenge EU’s New Foreign Policy Chief on Russia and Demand EU to Implement Magnitsky Sanctions in Europe

November 12, 2014

European Parliamentarians Challenge EU’s New Foreign Policy Chief on Russia and Demand EU to Implement Magnitsky Sanctions in Europe

12 November 2014 – Over twenty deputies in the European Parliament have written to Federica Mogherini, EU’s new foreign policy chief, asking her to implement the European Parliament’s recommendation to sanction 32 persons involved in the arrest, torture and murder of whistle-blowing Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.

“We are writing to you in relation to the European Parliament Recommendation to the Council of 2 April 2014 on establishing common visa restrictions for Russian officials involved in the Sergei Magnitsky case. …As the new head of the European External Action Service, what nearest actions do you plan to undertake to follow through on this recommendation?” – said European Parliament deputies in their letter to Ms Mogherini – “We ask you now in your new position to answer these questions so the European Parliament can then take a view of what to do next to make sure there is no further impunity in the Magnitsky case.”

Since Sergei Magnitsky’s murder in Russian police detention five years ago, the only significant actions taken in Russia have been the posthumous trial of Sergei Magnitsky himself and the closure of the investigation into his death, which found “no signs of crime,” and absolved all officials from responsibility. The investigation was closed following President Putin’s public intervention at a December 2012 press conference, where he claimed that Magnitsky was not tortured, but “died from a heart attack.”

Sergei Magnitsky’s case and the impunity of the Russian officials involved have become a symbol of the endemic corruption and failing justice system in Russia, and highlighted the abuse that Russian citizens face when they challenge the authorities. The case lead to a dramatic movement in Russian civil society, calling on the West to create consequences for those involved and specifically to impose sanctions in the form of visa bans and freezes on assets in Western banks.

In response to the Russian impunity, on 2 April 2014 the European Parliament adopted a resolution without any objections requiring the European External Action Service, EU’s foreign affairs body, to propose the sanctions to the EU Council of Ministers.

Since the resolution was passed, no action was taken by Baroness Catherine Ashton, the previous head of the EU’s External Action Service.

In addition to the European Parliament’s actions in the Magnitsky case, the U.S. passed the “Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act” in December 2012, imposing sanctions on the complicit Russian officials. Additionally, the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), international organizations comprising up to 57 countries, passed resolutions urging their members and their national parliaments to adopt a course similar to the US by implementing Magnitsky sanctions.

Sergei Magnitsky was a 37-year old lawyer and outside counsel for the Hermitage Fund, who was tortured to death in Russian Interior Ministry custody after he testified about the involvement of Interior Ministry officials in the theft of his client’s companies and the $230 million theft. The Russian officials responsible for his arrest, torture and killing were absolved from any responsibility, promoted and decorated with state honours.

For more information, please contact:

Magnitsky Justice Campaign
+44 2074401777
info@lawandorderinrussia.org
lawandorderinrussia.org

Pussy Riot to Lead Tribute to Sergei Magnitsky at the British Parliament on the Fifth Anniversary of His Murder in Russian Police Custody

November 12, 2014

Pussy Riot to Lead Tribute to Sergei Magnitsky at the British Parliament on the Fifth Anniversary of His Murder in Russian Police Custody

11 November 2014 – This month marks the fifth anniversary of the killing in Russian police custody of 37-year old anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who exposed a $230 million fraud perpetrated by Russian government officials and organised criminals.

While his death ignited worldwide condemnation and lead to numerous political and legal calls for justice around the globe, five years on there is still no justice in Russia for Sergei Magnitsky.

To mark the memory of Sergei Magnitsky and the fight against corruption which he gave his life for, politicians, artists, journalists and campaigners will gather in London on Tuesday 18 November 2014 to participate in a major panel by Henry Jackson Society to be held at the British parliament.

The session chaired by Chris Bryant, MP, is entitled ‘Prospects for Russia after Putin: Five Years from the Death of Sergei Magnitsky.’

Among the panelists are members of the Russian punk protest group Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, who were previously jailed in Russia for staging an anti-Putin protest in a Moscow church. Also participating will be Hon Irwin Cotler MP, former General Prosecutor of Canada, who represented prisoners of conscience Nathan Sharansky and Nelson Mandela; former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov; environmental activist and opposition leader Evgenia Chirikova; and Franco-Russo journalist Elena Servettaz, author of the book, “Why Europe Needs a Magnitsky Law”.

“This event will commemorate Sergei Magnitsky’s legacy by bringing together some of the top human rights campaigners to discuss Russia after Putin, and if there is a chance for the kind of Russia that Sergei Magnitsky believed in,” said a Magnitsky Justice Campaign representative.

Sergei Magnitsky was a 37-year old lawyer and outside counsel for the Hermitage Fund, who was tortured to death in Russian Interior Ministry custody after he testified about the involvement of Interior Ministry officials in the theft of his client’s companies and the $230 million theft. The Russian officials responsible for his arrest, torture and killing were absolved from any responsibility, promoted and decorated with state honours.

For more information, please contact:

Magnitsky Justice Campaign
+44 2074401777
info@lawandorderinrussia.org
lawandorderinrussia.org

To register your attendance at the Magnitsky event, please go to Henry Jackson Society website:
http://henryjacksonsociety.org/2014/11/18/prospects-for-russia-after-putin-five-years-from-the-death-of-sergei-magnitsky/

Ambassadors from Council of Europe States Reject Parliamentarians’ Call to Improve Judicial Cooperation in Case Exposed by Murdered Lawyer Sergei Magnitsky

November 12, 2014

Ambassadors from Council of Europe States Reject Parliamentarians’ Call to Improve Judicial Cooperation in Case Exposed by Murdered Lawyer Sergei Magnitsky

10 November 2014 – Foreign ministry officials from the Council of Europe have issued a rejection of demands by parliamentarians from 47-member states to improve international judicial cooperation in the money laundering case exposed by murdered anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.

Chaired by Mr E. Eyyubov, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister of Azerbaijan, the Strasbourg-based ambassadors comprising the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, the international organisation’s decision-making body, refused to propose any concrete measures that parliamentarians have asked for in their Recommendation entitled “Refusing Impunity for the Killers of Sergei Magnitsky” which was adopted by overwhelming majority in January this year.

The parliamentarians of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly asked in their January 2014 recommendation the Committee of Foreign Affairs Ministers to:
“examine ways and means of improving international co-operation in investigating the “money trail” of the funds originating in the fraudulent tax reimbursements denounced by Mr Magnitsky; and, in particular, of ensuring that the Russian Federation fully participates in these efforts.” (http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-EN.asp?fileid=20410&lang=en)

In the response to parliamentarians, the Committee of Ministers ignored the recommendations completely and changed the subject citing several general reports on Russia issued by MONEYVAL, a Council of Europe’s body in the area of anti-money laundering. None of the reports examine the $230 million money laundering case exposed by Sergei Magnitsky in any way.

“Although MONEYVAL does not address individual cases, it aims to provide its members with the capacity to fight money-laundering within their borders and to co-operate in order to prevent transborder money-laundering. At the international level, MONEYVAL works closely together with the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF). The Russian Federation is a member of both these bodies,” said the response from the Committee of Ministers to parliamentarians published on the official Council of Europe website (http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=21312&lang=en).

The diplomatic answer to Council of Europe’s parliamentarians from the Committee of Ministers adopted at the Committee’s session on 22 and 24 October in Strasbourg further said:

“The Committee [of Ministers] reiterates its call for an effective investigation and the bringing to justice of those responsible.”

Justice for Sergei Magnitsky campaign representative said:

“This strange bureaucratic response is defying the efforts of parliamentarians from 47 countries in Europe to achieve some measure of justice in the Magnitsky case. It is also an abandonment of Sergei Magnitsky who paid with his life trying to stop corrupt Russian officials from stealing millions from his country. The appointed diplomats in Europe should heed the call from the elected parliamentarians who have shown the resolve of the people to see that justice is done.”

The parliamentarians’ recommendation was based on the independent investigation into the Magnitsky case conducted by Council of Europe’s Rapporteur, Swiss MP Andreas Gross, who concluded that there was a need to improve international cooperation in this case because of the high-level cover up in this case in Russia.

Rapporteur Gross stated:
“My initial conclusion, namely that we are in the presence of a massive cover-up involving senior officials of the competent ministries, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Investigative Committee and even certain courts finds itself further consolidated.” (Report “Refusing the Impunity for the Killers of Sergei Magnitsky” http://www.assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/X2H-Xref-ViewPDF.asp?FileID=20084&lang=en).

Rapporteur Gross pointed out that the money laundering exposed by Sergei Magnitsky has been traced to a large number of European states which necessitated international judicial cooperation in this case:

“The laundering of the funds that can be traced back to the fraudulent US$230 million tax refund denounced by Mr Magnitsky has involved a large number of European States… Given the complexity of the criminal investigations required and the obvious need for international co-operation, the Assembly should also seize the Committee of Ministers in order to ensure that this important affair is included on the agenda of intergovernmental co-operation.” (Addendum to Report “Refusing the Impunity for the Killers of Sergei Magnitsky”, http://www.assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/X2H-Xref-ViewPDF.asp?FileID=20345&lang=en)

Conclusions expressed in the report “Refusing Impunity for the Killers of Sergei Magnitsky” prepared by Rapporteur Gross were adopted by overwhelming majority this January by the 47-member state Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Resolution “Refusing the Impunity for the Killers of Sergei Magnitsky” http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=20409&lang=en).

For further information please contact:

Justice for Sergei Magnitsky campaign
Phone: +44 207 440 1777
Email: info@lawandorderinrussia.org
Website: http://lawandorderinrussia.org

Sergei Magnitsky Justice Campaigners Demand Transparent Investigation into the Suspicious Death in Moscow of Russian Actor and Civil Rights Activist Alexei Devotchenko

November 6, 2014

Sergei Magnitsky Justice Campaigners Demand Transparent Investigation into the Suspicious Death in Moscow of Russian Actor and Civil Rights Activist Alexei Devotchenko

6 November 2014 – Campaigners for Justice for Sergei Magnitsky demand a transparent investigation into yesterday’s suspicious death in Moscow of Russian actor, civil activist, and a friend of the Magnitsky campaign Alexei Devotchenko.

Alexei Devotchenko was one of the few free voices left in Russia who had not been killed, arrested or forced into exile because of his way of thinking.

He was bravely speaking out against the political repression, kleptocracy and human rights violations endorsed by President Putin’s regime. Three years ago, in an act of protest against corruption and political censorship, Alexei Devotchenko returned the state honours which had been personally awarded to him by President Putin in recognition of his accomplishments as an outstanding actor. He explained it in an interview to Novy Region 2: “I am completely fed up with this tzardom-statedom. With its lies, cover-ups, state-sanctioned robbery, bribery and other virtues…” (http://www.newsinfo.ru/news/2011-11-21/devotchenko/766105/). Shortly afterwards, he was attacked on a Moscow underground. Details of this incident were reported on his facebook.
Last year, Alexei Devotchenko was a prominent figure at the memorial ceremony to mark the life and death of Sergei Magnitsky, held at the Sakharov centre. Alexei Devotchenko read poems by Russian poet and Nobel Prize laureate Joseph Brodsky who was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1972. Afterwards, he spoke about the difficult choices that every free-thinking Russian has to make, and whether it’s safe for him and his family to stay in the country given the political repressions and bloodshed that could come of it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68UZDPLwtDY].
Yesterday, Alexei Devotchenko was found dead with signs of violence in a pool of blood near his apartment in Moscow. Despite early indications of a suspicious death, this morning a ‘source’ in the Russian law enforcement stated that murder was excluded, that the actor was a “drunk,” that the bruises were caused by glass furniture in his apartment, and that a heart attack is a possible explanation for his death (http://www.rg.ru/2014/11/06/devotchenko-site.html; http://www.interfax.ru/culture/405635).

‘We mourn the death of a courageous Russian patriot Alexei Devotchenko. We believe that the Russian public deserves to know what really happened. We are aware of the extent of cover up that is possible. As we know from experience, it would not be the first time in Russia that murder was covered up by a “heart attack” and “drunkenness.” We demand that the investigation of Alexei Devotchenko’s death is conducted openly and transparently,” said a Sergei Magnitsky Justice campaign representative.

For more information, please contact:

Magnitsky Justice Campaign
+44 2074401777
info@lawandorderinrussia.org
lawandorderinRussia.org

Коллеги Сергея Магнитского требуют расследовать обстоятельства гибели в Москве актера Алексея Девотченко

November 6, 2014

Коллеги Сергея Магнитского требуют расследовать обстоятельства гибели в Москве актера Алексея Девотченко

6 ноября 2014 года – Коллеги Сергея Магнитского выражают глубокие соболезнования родным, близки, всем, кто хорошо знал самобытного российского актера и человека с большой буквы Алексея Девотченко. Мы также требуем проведения гласного и полного расследования обстоятельств его гибели.

Алексей Девотченко был настоящим патриотом своей страны. Он занимал ответственную гражданскую позицию и не боялся публично высказываться против подавления в стране любого проявления свободомыслия. В знак протеста против политических репрессий, спонсируемых президентом Путиным, он отказался от врученных ему Путиным Государственных премий. Так он сам объяснил это в интервью «Новый регион 2»:

“Достало вконец все это царство-государство. Своим враньем, круговой порукой, узаконенным грабежом, взяточничеством и прочими доблестями…. А главное – невозможностью играть свои спектакли. Выстраданные и любимые”. http://www.newsinfo.ru/news/2011-11-21/devotchenko/766105/.

В апреле прошлого года Алексей Девотченко выступил на вечере памяти Сергея Магнитского, где он читал стихи Иосифа Бродского, а после выступления говорил о тревожных предчувствиях и опасениях за семью, если они останутся в России (в силу политического гнета, протесты против которого приведут к кровопролитию). (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68UZDPLwtDY).

На теле погибшего актера Алексея Девотченко, по сообщениям прессы, были обнаружены внешние повреждения, в частности, ссадины на ногах и травма головы.

«Мы скорбим об Алексее Девотченко. Мы настаиваем на проведении гласного и полного расследования обстоятельств его гибели. Мы хорошо знаем, как система умеет скрывать следы преступлений, пытаясь объяснить убийство «сердечным приступом» и «чрезмерным употреблением алкоголя». Так было в случае с Сергеем Магнитским. Только благодаря колоссальным усилиям и реакции всего общества этому удалось противостоять, но несмотря на это Следственный комитет России все равно закрыл дело об убийстве Сергея Магнитского. Мы не должны оставаться равнодушными к произволу и беззаконию. Поддержите наше требование », – сказал представитель программы «Справедливость для Сергея Магнитского».

Отправить Ваше требование провести тщательное и открытое расследование обстоятельств гибели актера Алексея Девотченко можно в Интернет-приемной Следственного комитета РФ по официальной ссылке на его сайте: http://www.sledcom.ru/internet-reception/

За дополнительной информацией обращайтесь:

Программа «Справедливость для Сергея Магнитского»
Телефон: +44 2074401777
info@lawandorderinrussia.org
www.lawandorderinRussia.org

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