November 23, 2009 By James Kimer

Sergei Magnitsky’s Final Petition

Hermitage is sending around another press today with regard to the recent death in Russian custody of their lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.  Apparently five days before his death due to untreated illness, the lawyer had filed a complaint denouncing the falsification of evidence in his case.  Below is the text of the release with some links to the original documents.  The growing paper trail accumulated by Magnitsky before his death is making it near impossible for the Russian government to make certain claims.

Five Days Before his Death, Sergey Magnitskiy Filed Legal Documents Indicating Evidence in His Case Was Falsified

23 November 2009 – The last petition filed by Sergey Magnitskiy, a Russian lawyer who died in pre-trial detention, described the malicious tampering by police investigators of materials in his case file and the falsification of evidence. He intended to take criminal action against those responsible for fabricating evidence in his case. Sergey Magnitskiy filed his petition on 11 November 2009, five days before his death, with Investigator Oleg Silchenko of the Russian Interior Ministry’s Investigative Committee.