Just yesterday the Interior Ministry held a provocative press conference on the Hermitage and Sergei Magnitsky matter, denying they had any knowledge of his untreated illness. It prompted a press release response from Browder’s people earlier this morning.
Now, the prison administration is acknowledging some level of responsibility. Interesting twists and turns, which make some sense in that the Interior Ministry are the ones accused of the corporate identity theft.
The deputy director of the prison service, Alexander Smirnov, was quoted as saying by Russian media that there were “visible violations on our part” in Mr Magnitsky’s treatment.
“We are not going to minimise our guilt in any way – it is definitely there,” he said, without giving any further details.