Photo credit: Janet Donovan
“I’m in from London to attend the book party for Elana,” said Jado Russell at the Kalorama home of Juleanna Glover and Christopher Reiter. Elana Servettaz is a Russian-French journalist and a news anchor at Radio France Internationale where she covers international relations and high-profile political cases including that of Sergei Magnitsky which is what her book is about.
Elana Servettaz
Not to diminish our intellectual capacity, but the subject matter was a bit heavy to grasp at a cocktail party so we are going to spell it out for you.
“Sergei Magnitsky was a Russian accountant and auditor whose arrest and subsequent death in custody generated international media attention and triggered both official and unofficial inquiries into allegations of fraud, theft and human rights violations. Magnitsky had alleged there had been a large-scale theft from the Russian state sanctioned and carried out by Russian officials. He was arrested and eventually died in prison seven days before the expiration of the one-year term during which he could be legally held without trial. His case has become an international cause célèbre and led to the adoption of the Magnitsky bill by the US government at the end of 2012 by which those Russian officials believed to be involved in the lawyer’s death were barred from entering the United States or using its banking system. In response, Russia blocked hundreds of foreign adoptions.” Wikipedia
“The book is trying to encourage politicians in Europe to follow the example of the United States in introducing laws to try and stop people that are involved in Human Rights abuses,” continued Russell. “That’s the basic idea…..that this law was passed in the United States, the Magnitsky Act. We don’t have the same law in Europe. This book is trying to encourage politicians to follow what the United States has done.”
David Kramer, President of Freedom House, welcomed guests and thanked Bill Browder that Magnitsky legislation was passed by members of congress and made sure that it happened here in the US. Kramer was United States Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor from 2008 to 2009 and became executive director of Freedom House in October 2010.
David Kramer
“Other democracies needs to follow suit and make sure that it’s actually not just Russia. There are other countries that engage in human rights abuses within their own borders and to use it to represent the terrible tragedy that the fell Sergei Magnitsky who did such a role and work in exposing a massive corruption case in Russia, and pay the ultimate price for it, losing his life. Bill Browder made sure that his name has not been forgotten.”
“Four years ago roughly at this time,” said Browder. “Sergei Magnitsky was murdered in Russian police custody. Sergei was my lawyer and he was arrested by a number of Russian government officials because he exposed the huge corruption scheme. He exposed the corruption scheme working on my behalf. If the Russians could have, they would have arrested me, but they had keep me out of the country a couple of years earlier and Sergei was the most convenient person for them to take hostage.
Elana with Bill Browder
When I learned about his death from the 17th of November, 2009, it was like a knife going right into my heart and I made a vow to myself on that day that I was not going to let the people who killed him get away with it and make sure that they face justice. His death was not another meaningless death that comes out of Russia on a daily, weekly cases. From that moment on, I began this campaign to get justice for Sergei Magnitsky.” Browder is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of the investment fund Hermitage Capital Management.”
More about Why Europe Needs A Magnitsky Law here.
