The European Parliament called Thursday on EU members to impose sanctions on Russian officials involved in the death in prison of corporate lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
Despite heavy Russian lobbying, the parliament voted for a measure that encourages EU members to impose an EU entry ban for Russian officials involved in this case and freeze their bank accounts and other assets in Europe.
The EU lawmakers consider the Magnitsky death case "an outstanding example of the serious shortcomings within Russia's judicial system ... and those guilty of aggressions against and even murder of human rights defenders, independent journalists and lawyers still too often enjoy impunity."
Magnitsky, who was defending British investment company Hermitage Capital Management against tax evasion charges, died aged 37 in a Moscow pretrial detention facility last November after being refused medical treatment for pancreatitis.
Magnitsky's death triggered an international row last year amid concerns that his imprisonment could have been politically motivated.
Although Russian President Dmitry Medvedev fired several top prison officials over Magnitsky's death and pledged a full investigation, no one has been prosecuted in the case so far.
BRUSSELS, December 16 (RIA Novosti)
