Another intervention by HFHR the case of Sergei Magnitsky

Once again, the HFHR addressed the Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski, asking for information about the past and planned measures which intended to impose adequate visa and financial sanctions against Russian officials responsible for Sergei Magnitsky’s death.

Let us remind our readers that in response to the previous HFHR’s appeals, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Poland would seek to develop a strong position of the European Union urging Russia to conduct a transparent investigation into the death of Sergei Magnitsky, consistent with international legal standards. The Ministry also announced that in the event of an unsatisfactory response from the authorities of the Russian Federation and in the absence of adequate actions, Poland would strive to persuade the European Union to compile a list of persons who have contributed to the death of Mr Magnitsky and to secure the Member States consensus to impose visa and financial sanctions on these persons. Despite this resolved address, so far the Ministry failed to disclose to the public any concrete information on the actions taken.

The HFHR devotes particular attention to the case of S. Magnitsky, a Russian tax law attorney who unveiled one of the largest corruption scandals in Russia which implicated top-ranking Russian officials. In the aftermath of the scandal, Mr Magnitsky was arrested and died in pre-trial detention. So far we have three times appealed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take adequate action.