Officials Blamed For Magnitsky Death Not to Get U.S. Visas - State Dept
MOSCOW. Oct 12 (Interfax) - The U.S. administration will not support the U.S. Congress' "black list" of Russian officials blamed for the death of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer for British hedge fund Hermitage Capital, in a Russian jail in 2009, a U.S. assistant secretary said on a radio program on Wednesday.
Michael Posner, assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labor, told the Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow) radio that Congress had no right to dictate to the administration who is to be denied entry visas to the United States, but that Russian officials accused of Magnitsky's death would be turned down if they seek entry visas.
The White House may put visa restrictions on human rights violators in any country, and persons held responsible by Washington for Magnitsky's death come in the visa denial category, Posner said.
Magnitsky died in Moscow's Butyrka pretrial detention center on November 16, 2009, while awaiting trial on tax evasion charges.
Rights defenders insist that prison medics and law enforcement officers are to blame for his death that caused a huge public outcry in Russia and abroad.
On July 4, 2011, the Investigative Committee announced the results of an additional forensic examination. As a result, criminal charges were filed against Butyrka medics - doctor Dmitry Kratov (Article 293 of the
Criminal Code, "negligence") and laboratory doctor Larisa Litvinova (Article 109, "causing death by inadvertence").
At the beginning of August, the Prosecutor General's Office resumed investigation into tax evasion charges against Magnitsky. The lawyer's mother appealed against the decision.
In July, the U.S. State Department compiled a "black list" of Russian officials it suspects of involvement in Magnitsky's death. The list includes Federal Security Service (FSB) officers, top and medium-rank policemen, prison guards and medics, prosecutors and tax inspectors.
Russia, Assassinations, Beatings, Prison Deaths - Russia, U.S.-Russian Relations - Russian News - Russia - Johnson's Russia List
