Dead Russian Lawyer’s Colleagues “Threatened”
An unnamed London-based Russian lawyer allegedly received death threats before and after the sudden death in a Moscow jail of Sergei Magnitsky, a colleague who had accused the police of involvement in a corruption case.
The lawyer worked for Hermitage Capital Management; he was one of seven who fled Russia as the dispute between the company and Moscow escalated after its CEO, William Browder, was banned in 2005 after alleging corruption at big Russian companies.
Hermitage said it believed the death-threat text messages sent from a Russian mobile phone over the last month were a warning. They could indicate Magnitsky was killed rather than dying of natural causes after complaining for months he had been denied medical treatment for a serious stomach condition.