Russia Reopens Inquiry Into Lawyer’s Death In Jail

Russian investigators have reopened a criminal investigation for fraud against a whistle-blowing lawyer whose death in a Moscow prison caused international outrage.

The decision to reopen the probe follows a recent Constitutional Court ruling allowing criminal cases to be pursued against suspects who are already dead.

Supporters of Magnitsky say the lawyer was denied life-saving treatment while in pretrial detention, leading to his death in November 2009, aged 37.

Magnitsky, whom prosecutors accused of tax evasion and fraud, claimed to have uncovered a massive tax scam by corrupt police officers.

compiled from agency reports

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