IAE MATERIAL
Sergey Magnitsky — Hermitage case
A Hermitage lawyer and tax adviser who died in pre-trial detention in 2009; his case was considered by the European Court of Human Rights.
Sergey Magnitsky worked as a lawyer and tax adviser for Hermitage. According to the case file provided, he investigated the re-registration of the fund’s Russian companies and the subsequent tax refund, and gave testimony about alleged abuses.
Magnitsky was arrested and placed in pre-trial detention in November 2008. He died in custody on 16 November 2009, aged 37. In its judgment in Magnitskiy and Others v. Russia, the European Court of Human Rights found violations of the right to life, the prohibition of ill-treatment, requirements governing the length of pre-trial detention, and the right to a fair trial in connection with the posthumous conviction. The Court also noted inadequate medical care and an insufficient investigation into the circumstances of his death.
Related story: the Russian entities of Hermitage Fund — Riland LLC, Parfenion LLC, and Makhaon LLC.
Photo: Sergey Magnitsky, 2006. Wikimedia Commons / Voice of America, public domain (credit as stated in the client-provided case file).
Sources
- Magnitskiy and Others v. Russia, Applications Nos. 32631/09 and 53799/12 — European Court of Human Rights (HUDOC)
- ECHR press release on the Magnitsky case — European Court of Human Rights
Key Dates
- 2007 — Investigation into the re-registration of the companies. According to the case file, Magnitsky investigated the change of control and the tax refund.
- 24 November 2008 — Arrest and remand in pre-trial detention. The date is given in the ECHR materials.
- 16 November 2009 — Death in pre-trial detention. Sergey Magnitsky died at the age of 37.
- 27 August 2019 — ECHR judgment. The Court found multiple violations of the Convention.