Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Russia's Interior Ministry has been accused of "spitting on the grave of a dead man" as it pressed on with the investigation into Sergei Magnitsky, the lawyer who died in custody.
Mr Magnitsky was working for Hermitage Capital, an investment fund, when he claimed to have uncovered a $230m (£150m) tax fraud, allegedly perpetrated by Interior Ministry officials. The same officials arrested him over tax evasion in late 2008, and he spent nearly a year without trial in Moscow's notorious Butyrka prison,where he died of untreated pancreatitis in November 2009.
His death caused an international outcry, but Russian officials seem keener on investigating the allegations against Mr Magnitsky than uncovering the circumstances of his death. The Interior Ministry said yesterday that the posthumous inquiry had been extended for another two months, because of a "need to identify the position of the relatives".
According to Russian law, after a suspect has died, the inquiry can be closed with the consent of close relatives. Nikolai Gorokhov, the family's lawyer, who made the "spitting" comment, said yesterday that the ministry's position was disingenuous in the extreme. "Magnitsky's family has repeatedly stated their position about the illegality of the posthumous prosecution by filing formal written complaints to all Russian state bodies," he said.
"I say, 'I want to end this case' and they say, 'No, we won't accept it, you forgot a comma or you used the wrong ink'," Mr Magnitsky's mother, Natalya Magnitskaya, said in an interview with Reuters last week.
Rights activists say broken bones and bruises on the body of Mr Magnitsky, 37, show he was beaten in custody. A special rights group reported to President Dmitry Medvedev on the case over the summer, and found that police investigators and prison officials were at least partially to blame for the death. The only people to have been charged are two prison medics.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments