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Father-of-two killed after confronting corrupt Russian officials and mobsters (Photo: Dmitry Rozhkov)

Feature

Widow's plea as EU diplomats debate Magnitsky Act

Father-of-two killed after confronting corrupt Russian officials and mobsters (Photo: Dmitry Rozhkov)

Ten years ago, on 16 November 2009 in a jail cell in Moscow, guards strapped Sergei Magnitsky, a 37-year old father of two, to a bench and lashed him with rubber batons.

He was already suffering from pancreatitis, contracted due to the appalling conditions in the Butyrka prison where he had languished for almost a year, and he died later the same day.

His 'offence' was to have alerted Russian authorities to the fact an organised crime group, which included senior Russian offici...

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

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