MOSCOW — The
only official charged with the death of a Russian whistleblowing lawyer
walked free on Friday after a Moscow court acquitted him of negligence,
in a case that has become a rallying point for human rights advocates and sparked escalating legislation in the U.S. and Russia.
Sergei Magnitsky died in jail in 2009 after his pancreatitis went untreated, and an investigation by Russia's presidential council on human rights concluded he was severely beaten and denied medical treatment. Prison doctor Dmitry Kratov was the only person to face trial in the case.
Judge Tatyana Neverova said she found no evidence that Kratov's
negligence could have caused the lawyer's death. The acquittal was
widely expected after prosecutors earlier this week dropped their
accusations, saying they had decided there was no connection between
Kratov's actions and Magnitsky's death.
The case has angered both Russian
activists and the West. The U.S. Congress passed legislation this month
in Magnitsky's name, calling for sanctions against officials —
including Kratov — deemed to be connected with human rights abuses. The
bill provoked retaliation from Moscow, including a measure barring
Americans from adopting Russian children that President Vladimir Putin signed on Friday.
Magnitsky, a lawyer for the Hermitage Capital fund, was arrested in
2008 on suspicion of tax evasion by the same Interior Ministry officials
he accused of using false tax documents to steal $230 million from the
state. He died while in custody awaiting trial.
Government officials have
dismissed calls to investigate police officials and the only official
charged in his death was Kratov, who was deputy chief physician at the
Butyrskaya prison where Magnitsky was held.
Hermitage's owner, Bill Browder, said the outcome of the trial shows the government's unwillingness to find and try the culprits.
"Even though Kratov was only a
minor player in the overall persecution of Sergei, the fact that the
Russian authorities can't even scapegoat their one scapegoat says
everything about this case," Browder said.
Kratov pleaded not guilty to
charges of negligence leading to death, saying he was unable to ensure
medical care for Magnitsky because of a shortage of staff.
The prison doctor thanked "everyone who believed in me and my innocence" after the verdict.
The lawyer's family has described
the trial as a sham, maintaining that Kratov played a minor role in the
man's death and that officials responsible must face justice.
The lawyer's mother and attorney did not attend the ruling in protest.
"Participation in this court hearing would have been humiliating for
me," Nataliya Magnitskaya said in a statement. "I understand that
everything has been decided in advance and everything has been
pre-determined."
Browder said that he does not
doubt that "people responsible for Magnitsky's death are being protected
by the president of Russia.
"In this case, there was
overwhelming evidence of Kratov's involvement and his acquittal goes
against any logic or concept of justice," he said
Valery Borshchev, a human rights
advocate who spearheaded the presidential commission's investigation
into Magnitsky's death, was outraged with the court's decision.
Borshchev insisted that authorities must investigate overwhelming
evidence collected by his commission that points to the fact that
Magnitsky was tortured.
"Kratov and others are guilty
because there were inadequate conditions to treat Magnitsky," he told
the Interfax news agency. "The conditions in jail were torturous, and
doctors didn't do anything to change that."
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