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Criminal Case Against Magnitsky Doctor Dropped

Butyrskaya pretrial detention center Andrei Makhonin

The criminal case accusing Butyrskaya prison doctor Larisa Litvinova of involuntary manslaughter in the death of anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky has been dropped, Hermitage Capital said in a statement Monday.

Hermitage cited a letter from authorities that said the case was being closed because too much time had passed without finding evidence of a serious offense, RIA-Novosti reported.

Litvinova, one of two defendants in the case of Magnitsky's death, had been accused of intentionally withholding medical care in order to compel Magnitsky to withdraw testimony in a case against allegedly corrupt officials, the statement said.

The charge against Litvinova carried a sentence of up to three years in prison.

The only remaining person accused in Magnitsky's death is the former deputy head of the prison in charge of medical care, Dmitry Kratov, leaving 59 officials who have not been brought to account for their actions, the Hermitage statement said.

Kratov, Litvinova's superior, faces a potential five years in prison on charges of negligence.

A proposed bill in the U.S. Senate would deny visas and freeze the assets of 60 officials involved in Magnitsky's death. Sergei Magnitsky died in pretrial detention in 2009 after being denied medical care.

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