U.S. Congress to Hold Magnitsky Bill Hearing This Week, Hermitage Capital Says
Interfax - 6.4.12 - JRL 2012-101
MOSCOW. June 4 (Interfax) - A debate on sanctions against Russian officials implicated in Sergei Magnitsky's death will take place in the U.S. Congress this week, the press service of the Hermitage Capital Management investment fund reports.
The House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs will meet on June 7 to debate the Magnitsky bill barring corrupted Russian officials from entering the United States and freezing their assets, a Hermitage Capital spokesman has told Interfax.
This special hearing shows that U.S. lawmakers are ready to debate the bill without tying it to the issue of trade regime between the United States and Russia, the spokesman said.
Some congressmen, including the committee's chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, have already voiced their support of the Magnitsky bill.
"The passage of the bill through the Committee on Foreign Affairs is an important event paving the way for the bill's subsequent approval at the House's plenary session. It will also speed up the adoption of similar sanctions against corrupted Russian officials in a number of European countries," the spokesman said.
Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky died in a Moscow prison on November 16, 2009 while awaiting trial on tax evasion charges. Magnitsky's colleagues claim that he was arrested after exposing corruption schemes involving some Russian officials.
His death triggered a public outcry in Russia and abroad.
In July 2011, the U.S. State Department drew up a "black list" of Russian officials banned from entering the U.S. over the Magnitsky case. The list includes special service and police officers, prison guards, medics, prosecutors, auditors and tax inspectors.
Russia retaliated with its own "black list" comprising 11 U.S. citizens.
After Magnitsky's death, the criminal case against him was dropped. But in August 2011, the Prosecutor General's Office ordered it to be reopened.
By now, the investigation has been completed. Lawyers representing the Magnitsky family have refused to study the case files.
A doctor of the Butyrka pre-trial detention center, L. Litvinova, was charged with professional negligence leading to Magnitsky's death. In April 2012, the criminal charges against her were dropped because the status of limitations had expired.
Deputy chief of the prison hospital Dmitry Kratov was also charged with professional negligence. The Investigative Committee is planning to send his case to court.
Keywords: U.S.-Russian Relations - Russian News - Russia
MOSCOW. June 4 (Interfax) - A debate on sanctions against Russian officials implicated in Sergei Magnitsky's death will take place in the U.S. Congress this week, the press service of the Hermitage Capital Management investment fund reports.
The House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs will meet on June 7 to debate the Magnitsky bill barring corrupted Russian officials from entering the United States and freezing their assets, a Hermitage Capital spokesman has told Interfax.
This special hearing shows that U.S. lawmakers are ready to debate the bill without tying it to the issue of trade regime between the United States and Russia, the spokesman said.
Some congressmen, including the committee's chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, have already voiced their support of the Magnitsky bill.
"The passage of the bill through the Committee on Foreign Affairs is an important event paving the way for the bill's subsequent approval at the House's plenary session. It will also speed up the adoption of similar sanctions against corrupted Russian officials in a number of European countries," the spokesman said.
Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky died in a Moscow prison on November 16, 2009 while awaiting trial on tax evasion charges. Magnitsky's colleagues claim that he was arrested after exposing corruption schemes involving some Russian officials.
His death triggered a public outcry in Russia and abroad.
In July 2011, the U.S. State Department drew up a "black list" of Russian officials banned from entering the U.S. over the Magnitsky case. The list includes special service and police officers, prison guards, medics, prosecutors, auditors and tax inspectors.
Russia retaliated with its own "black list" comprising 11 U.S. citizens.
After Magnitsky's death, the criminal case against him was dropped. But in August 2011, the Prosecutor General's Office ordered it to be reopened.
By now, the investigation has been completed. Lawyers representing the Magnitsky family have refused to study the case files.
A doctor of the Butyrka pre-trial detention center, L. Litvinova, was charged with professional negligence leading to Magnitsky's death. In April 2012, the criminal charges against her were dropped because the status of limitations had expired.
Deputy chief of the prison hospital Dmitry Kratov was also charged with professional negligence. The Investigative Committee is planning to send his case to court.
Keywords: U.S.-Russian Relations - Russian News - Russia