Motion for a resolution | Doc. 12909 | 24 April 2012
Refusing impunity for the killers of Sergei Magnitsky
The Parliamentary Assembly considers that the case of the Russian whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky demands continued attention from the international community.
Mr Magnitsky was killed at the end of 2009 while in pretrial detention in Moscow after he refused to change his testimony against corrupt officials. Those officials had committed large-scale fraud against the Russian state which they tried to blame on Mr Magnitsky’s client, Hermitage Capital.
The conspiracy leading to Mr Magnitsky’s death was exposed by journalists and investigated by the Presidential Human Rights Council and other civil society bodies, which concluded in the summer of 2011 that a number of named officials were indeed apparently responsible for this crime.
According to investigators, following the events in question, the officials concerned acquired luxury properties and other assets whose value far exceeds what they could afford on their salaries as public servants.
The competent authorities have nevertheless failed to properly investigate and prosecute those responsible for Mr Magnitsky’s death. Instead, they have continued to accuse Mr Magnitsky, even seeking to prosecute him posthumously.
The fight against corruption and abuses by law enforcement bodies is a stated priority of the political leadership of the Russian Federation. Holding the perpetrators and organisers of the crime against Mr Magnitsky to account would send a strong signal that Russia means business in this fight.
The Assembly first raised its voice against the abuses committed against Mr Magnitsky in October 2009, when Mr Magnitsky was still alive. For the sake of its own credibility and that of the Russian Federation, the Assembly should now engage in co-operation with Russia, through the preparation of a dedicated report, in order to fully elucidate this landmark case.