Political Quotes

“Madam President, 12 years ago this Tuesday, Russian tax lawyer Sergei Magnitsky died in Moscow at the hands of prison guards who, instead of treating him for the acute illness that his torturous, yearlong detention provoked, beat him for over an hour. He was found dead in his cell shortly thereafter. His ``crime'' was exposing the largest tax fraud in Russian history, perpetrated by government officials. He was 37 years old and left a loving family and many friends. At the Helsinki Commission, which I chair, we had heard of Sergei's plight months earlier, and we were saddened and outraged that such a promising life had been cut short and that so few expected his murderers to be held to any account. Impunity for the murder of journalists, activists, opposition politicians, and now simply an honest citizen was and remains a depressing cliche in Russia under Vladimir Putin's rule, while his regime often ruthlessly punishes people for minor infractions of the law. For those on the wrong side of the Kremlin, the message is clear and chilling. Even the most damning evidence will not suffice to convict the guilty, nor will the most exculpatory evidence spare the innocent. The need for justice in Russia in this specific case has not diminished with the passage of time. Moreover, the doubling down on the coverup of Sergei's murder and the massive tax heist he exposed implicates a wider swath of Russian officials with the guilt of this heinous crime.…”