Anti-Corruption Advocate and Lawyer Dies in Jail — Kremlin Fired Prison Head and Others

Sergei Magnitsky, 37, was a courageous lawyer who fought the corruption in Russia and went public with his accusations. The result was first his arrest on tax evasion charges and then his death in a Moscow prison. Now, President Dmitry Medvedev has fired the prison head and 19 other officials. However, there will apparently be no investigation into his original arrest or its connection to his allegations against government officials.

The case is viewed as another in a line of cases where whistleblowers and public interest advocates have been arrested or ended up dead in Russia. For a Washington Post article on the issue, click here.

Western colleagues of Magnitsky at Firestone Duncan call it a cover-up where Russian officials want to avoid answering questions about the use of arrests to crackdown on critics.

He did have a “pancreatic ailment” but heart failure was listed as the cause of death.
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