Medvedev Sacks 20 Prison Officials after Magnitsky Death

Sergei Magnitsky was a Russian lawyer for Hermitage Capital Management who was tortured and murdered through medical blackmail while held in prison, never convicted of a crime.  He was not given the medicines and treatment he needed to live because prosecutors wanted him to perjure himself with false testimony against his clients.

Following the publishing of his letters, there has been a very high level of discussion in the Russian media for the kind of case we usually see ignored.

Just like Vladimir Putin on the war path following the train bombing and the Perm nightclub fire, President Dmitry Medvedev is taking cosmetic actions in response to the Magnitsky murder:  The government had already admitted partial guilt for the incident.  Today Moscow’s prisons chief has announced to the media that the president has ordered the firing of 20 high-ranking penitentiary officials who are said to be responsible for the mistreatment of Magnitsky.

This may be an appropriate action to take following the probe … but who are the prosecutors who asked the officials to extort Magnitsky, and shouldn’t they be thrown into jail for these criminal actions?