Category Archives: Journalism & Media

Human Rights Commissioner slams Magnitsky trial as Europe continues to moot law

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Sergei_Magnitsky_(grave)Here is my latest piece published on the IBA Global Insight newsfeed:

The Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner Nils Muižnieks has condemned the posthumous trial of Sergei Magnitsky, just four months after a Russian court found the deceased lawyer and his former boss, Hermitage Capital founder Bill Browder, guilty of tax evasion in the country’s first modern-day posthumous trial.

In the report published last week, Muižnieks highlights a recent decision by the European Court of Human Rights, which states that posthumous trials violate Article 6 – the right to a fair trial – since the deceased is not able to testify at his trial.

He added that the trial’s proceedings are also contrary to a July 2011 ruling by Russia’s Constitutional Court, which stated that prosecutors cannot continue to prosecute people after their death. Instead, he adds the ruling said that ‘…posthumous trials are only allowed with a view to rehabilitating a person who was accused or convicted of a particular crime at the request of his family.’

The damning report comes just weeks after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s (PACE) Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee approved a report calling for the Russian authorities to put an end to the posthumous trial once and for all.

Published on 18-11-13. Read on here

Russia: Reforming or unravelling?

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This is my latest feature piece for IBA Global Insight:MoscowWhen Russia finally joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on 22 August 2012, after an 18-year-long hard-fought slog, there were many left wondering if the wait had been worth it – and whether membership would bring any significant change. In a year that saw Vladimir Putin embark upon his third term as the country’s president, it’s unsurprising that few things have changed since last ­­August. Changes that have been implemented appear largely at odds with the new era of transparency promised by WTO membership, instead suggesting some worrying consequences for the rule of law.

One of the most striking incidents to bring Russia’s rule of law into focus in recent years has been the highly publicised case of Moscow-based lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in pre-trial custody in November 2009. While it’s just one incident, Magnitsky’s plight continues to dominate the headlines worldwide and is a stark reminder of Russia’s track record for human rights violations.

Published on 14-06-13. Read on here

Guatemala: historic Ríos Montt conviction overturned

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Here is my latest piece published in the IBA Global Insight newsfeed:

On 10 May it looked as if history had finally been made when former Guatemalan dictator General José Efraín Ríos Montt became the first person ever to be convicted of genocide in a domestic court.

86-year-old Ríos Montt, who came to power in Guatemala following a coup on 23 March 1982, stood accused of implementing a counter-insurgency policy that massacred more than 1,700 and displaced thousands of other members of indigenous group the Ixil Maya in 1982.

The three-judge panel ruled that Ríos Montt should be sentenced to 80 years in prison, which includes 50 years for genocide, with an additional 30 years added to his sentence for crimes against humanity.

The verdict in itself was of unparalleled historic significance for Guatemala, Central America and human rights as a whole. However, despite the damning 718-page judgment released on 17 May, just ten days later the country’s Constitutional Court dramatically overturned the ruling, effectively resetting the trial back to 19 April.

Published on 22-05-13. Read on here

Russia: historic Magnitsky trial brings corruption and rule of law into spotlight

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Author: Dmitry Rozhkov

Here is my latest piece published in the IBA Global Insight newsfeed:

Russia is set to make history as the country’s first modern-day posthumous trial gets underway in Moscow’s Tverskoi District Court.

The case, involving deceased defendant Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in pre-trial detention in a Moscow prison cell in 2009, has attracted worldwide media attention and brought the issue of corruption in Russia and problems with the country’s judicial and penitentiary systems all firmly under the international spotlight.

Another quirk of the trial will see the other defendant, Bill Browder, the founder of investment fund Hermitage Capital and Magnitsky’s client at the time of his arrest, examined in absentia, making him one of the few foreigners ever to stand trial in absentia in Russia.

Published on 06-03-13. Read on here

Chávez inauguration absence causes constitutional uncertainty

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Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images

Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images

Here is my latest piece published in the IBA Global Insight newsfeed:

Following his winning bid for re-election in October 2012 – beating nearest rival Henrique Capriles by a nine per cent margin – Venezuela waited with bated breath to see its President, Hugo Chávez, sworn in for another six-year term last Thursday.

However, on 10 January 2013, or ‘10E’, as it has often been referred to by the press and on social networking sites, Chávez was nowhere to be found in Venezuela. Instead he was reportedly still in Cuba, recovering from complications following a fourth cancer operation which took place on 11 December 2012.

Unlike Chávez’s previous trips to Cuba for medical treatment, no up-to-date images of the President have been released since the operation and a prolonged silence – notably even on his Twitter account – has provoked widespread concern over the President’s health, his succession plan and a rumoured impending power vacuum.

Published on 15-01-13. Read on here

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