In this regard, it needs to be noted that according to an independent investigation performed by the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights Sergey Magnitsky was subjected to inhumane conditions, deliberate medical neglect and torture in the prison.

Furthermore, the fact that the Russian authorities at the same time charged Sergey Magnitsky with tax evasion post mortem - the trial against him was resumed in March and continued today - represents another reason for concern as to the impartiality of justice in the Russian Federation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls upon the Russian authorities to properly and fully investigate the circumstances of the death of Mr. Magnitsky and, at the same time, to cease the posthumous legal proceedings against him. Moreover, appropriate steps should by taken by respective Russian institutions to make sure that similar cases will not take place in the future.