Russian authorities fabricated the case against anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died after a year in prison, business daily Vedomosti said on Tuesday, citing Kremlin human rights council lawyers.
The Federal Prison Service admitted it was partly responsible for the 2009 death in custody of Magnitsky, 37, who worked for Hermitage, once Russia’s biggest equity fund.
Magnitsky was jailed on charges of tax fraud in a case that spooked the international investment community, and his death sparked worldwide outrage. His relatives say he was denied medicine while in prison.
“The charges brought against Magnitsky by the investigators ... are not based on facts,” Vedomosti cited the report as saying.
“The charges against Magnitsky were fabricated by the [Russian] Interior Ministry and Federal Security Service officials,” the report said, according to the newspaper.
Council head Mikhail Fedotov told reporters on Tuesday that the council was still examining the Magnitsky case and declined to make any further comment.
Kirill Kabanov, also a Council member, said experts were still studying whether or not the Magnitsky case was fabricated.
Medvedev ordered the council to study the case in February, along with that of jailed former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Medvedev, who has styled himself as a champion of democracy since he was steered into the Kremlin in 2008 by his mentor, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, has been criticized by rights groups for staying quiet on high-profile cases.
Medvedev’s spokeswoman Natalia Timakova declined to comment on Tuesday when asked about any measures the Kremlin chief could take in response to the report.
The Council has always maintained that Khodorkovsky’s verdict and the charges brought against Magnitsky would not be altered following the review, but that the findings would be used to recommend changes to the existing laws on economic crimes.
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