Sergei Magnitsky Dies in Pre-Trial Detention

Lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who had uncovered a $230 million tax fraud implicating Russian officials, was himself arrested on fraud charges after his findings became public, held in pre-trial detention for nearly a year, denied adequate medical treatment for a treatable condition, and died in custody in November 2009 after being beaten. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2019 that Russia was responsible for his death, including inhuman treatment and a failure to protect his life in custody. His case led directly to the 2012 US Magnitsky Act and subsequent Magnitsky-style sanctions regimes adopted by the UK, EU, and Canada.