Russian Justice

"The sackings marked a rare public admission of responsibility by Russian authorities. But they fell short of the broader inquiry into alleged police and judicial corruption that Mr. [Sergei] Magnitsky's former colleagues have called for. ... Mr. Magnitsky, 37 years old, died suddenly in Moscow's Butyrskaya jail, where he was being held before trial on tax-evasion charges. ... His death shocked Russia's business and legal communities and highlighted the frequent use of pretrial detention in white-collar cases. Business groups say jail is often used as a pressure tactic, an allegation Russian authorities deny. ... Mr. Magnitsky suffered from a pancreatic ailment diagnosed in the year he was in jail, and his lawyer and former colleagues say lack of treatment likely led to his death. ... [William] Browder, ... said he and Mr. Magnitsky exposed a $230 million fraud against the Russian government perpetrated by some of the same Interior Ministry officials who are investigating their tax case. Ministry officials deny those charges", Gregory White at the WSJ, 12 December 2009, link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126055372837887579.html.

Does anyone remember Irv Rubin who supposedly died accidentally in November 2002 at the Los Angeles Federal Detention Center? If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you. Over the East River. The Russian Interior Ministry may be taken over by its Vampire Squid.