November 18, 2009 By James Kimer

Corruption and Death in Russia

Voice of America has published an important piece on the death of Hermitage lawyer Sergei Magnitsky and the practice of medical blackmail in Russian prisons:

Magnitsky developed problems with his pancreas and gall bladder as a result of what his American business associate, Jamison Firestone, described to VOA as filthy prison conditions. They included a tiny cell with two other people, no hot water, a shower once a week, and a kitchen above a hole in the floor that served as a toilet.

Firestone says the denial of medical care resulted in a slow motion killing by Interior Ministry officials seeking to hide corruption Magnitsky helped expose. The Ministry is often referred to by its Russian abbreviation, MVD.