The Magnitsky Case and the Limits of Russian Legal Reform

Author(s): William Pomeranz
Editor(s): Stephen Aris, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder, Aglaya Snetkov
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 92
Pages: 12-15
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen; Institute of History, University of Basel
Publication Year: 2011

Sergei Magnitsky died in November 2009 after spending 11 months in pretrial detention. The reforms adopted after his death highlight the difficulty of fighting entrenched interests to make Russia's criminal justice system compatible with the government's modernization efforts. Medvedev initiated changes in Russian law, but has not succeeded in changing the behavior of law enforcement agencies. Putin's declaration that Mikhail Khodorkovsky should remain in jail just before the court announced its decision in the second trial suggests that the courts will continue to be used for political purposes.

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